Scale of humanitarian challenges facing Syria remains staggering: UN

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The scale of the humanitarian challenges facing the people of Syria "remains staggering by any measure," the UN humanitarian chief said on Wednesday.

On behalf of the UN UNdersecretary-General for humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock, the Director of the Coordination Division of the UNited Nations Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs Ramesh Rajasingham told the Security CoUNcil in a meeting on the situation in the Middle East that "the humanitarian crisis in Syria is far from over."

"This month marks the eighth year since the Syria crisis began," Rajasingham said that the UN assessments indicate that 11.7 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection inside the coUNtry in 2019 and that more than 5.6 million Syrians live as refugees across the region.

Rajasingham said that the situation in al-Hol camp and in southeastern Deir-ez-Zor governorate presents a number of complex protection challenges.

Tens of thousands of displaced people - the vast majority of whom are women and children - have continued to arrive at al-Hol camp from southeastern Deir-ez-Zor governorate, and most new arrivals are in extremely poor health, with many showing signs of distress and suffering from trauma injuries, malnutrition and fatigue, said Rajasingham.

According to Rajasingham, the population of al-Hol camp now exceeds 72,000 -- an increase of more than 25,000 over the past month -- with indications that more people could still be on the way.

Rajasingham also said that the absence of adult males and adolescent boys over the age of 15 in the camp is notable. International support for efforts to respond to the needs of millions of Syrians remains critical, he added.