UN says 123,000 people newly displaced in Syria

NEW YORK (AA): More than 123,000 people have been displaced in three major Syrian governorates since last month, the UN has said.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Tuesday that at least 123,842 people had been forced to flee their homes in Aleppo, Hama and Idlib governorates between Oct. 5 and 30.

“The road from Hama to Aleppo has been cut since 23 October, putting at risk an estimated 700,000 people living in government-controlled areas of the city,” Dujarric said, adding: “Aerial attacks on medical facilities and staff continued as two hospitals in Idlib were reportedly hit last week.”

The Syrian civil war has claimed more than 250,000 lives since 2011 and made the country the world’s single-largest source of refugees and displaced people.

Some 3.9 million Syrians have become refugees and at least 7.6 million have been internally displaced, according to UN figures.

Neighboring Turkey is now the largest refugee-hosting country in the world with more than two million Syrian refugees on its soil.

“Humanitarian partners have scaled up to meet assessed needs but gaps remain, particularly in provision of household goods and shelter kits, and provision of health, water and sanitation and education services in camps for displaced people, due to insufficient funding and access challenges,” said Dujarric.

According to the UN’s aid agency, about 13.5 million people in Syria are now in need of humanitarian assistance and some sort of protection. The new figures mark an increase of 1.2 million in just 10 months, UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien said last week.