Syria Unrest

Security Council Agrees to Send UN Monitors to Aleppo

Monday, December 19, 2016

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 (IPS) - The UN Security Council - which has long struggled to find common ground on Syria - has unanimously approved a resolution allowing the UN to monitor the evacuation of civilians from Aleppo.

War of Words in UN Security Council as Aleppo's Civilians Suffer

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (IPS) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told UN Security Council members of credible reports of civilians in Aleppo being summarily executed during an emergency meeting held on Tuesday.

Civil Society On Aleppo: UN General Assembly Must Act 

Friday, December 02, 2016

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 02 (IPS) - Hundreds of civil society organisations from around the world have united to call on UN member states to step in and demand an end to unlawful attacks in Aleppo.

133 Organisations Nominate Syria’s White Helmets for Nobel Peace Prize

Thursday, August 18, 2016

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 18 (IPS) - Syria's White Helmets - the volunteers who rescue civilians from collapsed buildings - could be the "most popular" nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize ever, according to human rights group, the Syria Campaign.

UN Planning Airdrops for Besieged Syrians but Prefers Land Convoys

Friday, June 03, 2016

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 03 (IPS) - The UN has begun plans to deliver aid to besieged Syrian towns by air but says there are a number of obstacles in the way and that delivery by land remains its preferred choice.

G-77 Should Adopt South-South Climate Change Program of Action: Ambassador Djoghlaf

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 26 (IPS) - The 134 members of the Group of 77 and China (G-77) made their mark on the Paris Climate Change Agreement and should now adopt a program of action to implement it, Ambassador Ahmed Djoghlaf told IPS in a recent interview.

Baby Steps on Long Road to Justice for Atrocities in Syria

Monday, April 11, 2016

GENEVA, Apr 11 (IPS) - The negotiations on April 11, 2016 in Geneva and the recent reduction of hostilities in Syria may represent important steps towards a peaceful solution to more than five years of turmoil. Few would not welcome the guns falling silent once and for all and for an end to the suffering of civilians.

Palestinian Refugees from Syria

Friday, March 11, 2016

GAZA, Palestine, Mar 11 (IPS) - In the safety of his sister's bare flat in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, 42 year-old Iyad Yusef still shakes his head in disbelief when he recounts the journey that from war-torn Syria, brought him and his family to the relative safety of the blockaded strip.

“Take My Iraqis and Give Me Some Syrians” - Europe to Turkey

Tuesday, March 08, 2016

MADRID, Mar 08 (IPS) - In a yet another violation of international laws and their own human values, 28 European countries have just agreed with Turkey to open a new "bazaar" of refugees, this time using the old barter system. i.e. Iraqis and Afghans in exchange of Syrians.

Big War Lords Playing Brinkmanship Game in Syria

Monday, February 15, 2016

MADRID, Feb 15 (IPS) - When 25 million Syrians--half of them refugees abroad or at home and the other half terrorised by daily bombing, learnt that major world leaders in their meeting in Germany launched an unprecedented confrontation threatening with unleashing World War III, instead of easily agreeing on a ceasefire to alleviate their inhumane suffering, they most probably fell into an even deeper desperation. Se what happened.

Syria: Minding the Minds II

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

OSLO, Jan 12 (IPS) - Baher Kamalin … And All of a Sudden Syria!: "The "big five," the United Nations veto powers, have just agreed United Nations Resolution 2254 of 18-12-2015, time to end the Syrian five-year long human tragedy; they waited until 300,000 innocent civilians were killed and 4.5 million humans lost as refugees and homeless at home, hundreds of field testing of state-of-the-art drones made, and daily U.S., British, French and Russian bombing carried out." No Chinese bombing.

Once Auctioned, What to Do with Syrian Refugees?

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

MADRID, Jan 12 (IPS) - Few months ago, an unprecedented "humanitarian auction" was opened in Brussels at the European Commission, shortly after watching the image of the three-year old Syrian child that the sea threw up on the Turkish shores. The "auction" was about deciding upon the number of Syrian refugees to be hosted by each EU country. Germany won the largest batch.

Loneliness and Memories, Syrian Refugees Struggle in Safe Spaces

Monday, January 11, 2016

ZARQa, Jordan, Jan 11 (IPS) - Emelline Mahmoud Ilyas is an outgoing 35-year-old mother of three from Syria. Sitting in a community centre in Zarqa, Jordan, where she just held a meeting with Jordanian and Syrian parents on the subject of childcare, she remembers the 'journey of death' that led her family to the Hashemite Kingdom.

Syrian Government to Allow Aid, Loosening the Stranglehold on Madaya

Friday, January 08, 2016

ROME, Jan 08 (IPS) - The Syrian government says it will allow humanitarian aid into the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, according to the United Nations, following reports and horrific pictures of residents starving to death. Aid is expected to reach the area by Monday, but for some it is too little and too late.

Syria ­- A Light to the World

Thursday, December 31, 2015

BELFAST, Dec 31 (IPS) - In November 2015 I visited Syria together with an International Peace delegation. This was my third visit to Syria in the last three years. As on previous occasions I was moved by the spirit of resilience and courage of the people of Syria.

Analysis: Kurdish-led peace conference is best hope for Syria

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec 16 (IPS) - While the war in Syria continues to draw in more outside forces, the work towards finding a political solution to this five-year old conflict carries on. In the past week, no less than three separate conferences were organized by different clusters of opposition groups. Conferences were held in three places: Damascus, Dêrîk – a city in the Kurdish-controlled northern part of Syria – and Riyadh, the Saudi capital, respectively.

U.S., Russian Arms Supplies to Iraq, Syria a Blessing to Rebel Groups

Thursday, September 24, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 (IPS) - The United States and Russia are escalating arms sales to two of their major allies in the Middle East – Iraq and Syria – despite fears that some of these weapons may ultimately wind up, ironically, in the hands of armed rebel groups battling government forces.

UAE Government Stresses its Abidng Support for Syrian Refugees

Thursday, September 17, 2015

ABU DHABI, Sep 17 (IPS) - In response to suggestions that the Gulf states are doing littleor nothing to help Syrians fleeing their civil war, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has announced that it has take a broad range of supportive actions to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian population and to care for Syrian refugees in Syria and abroad, reports WAM.

U.N. Military Sanctions on Syria May Face Veto by Arms Supplier

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 25 (IPS) - The staggering statistics emerging from the ongoing five-year-old military conflict in Syria – including over 220,000 killed, more than one million injured and about 7.6 million displaced – are prompting calls for a United Nations arms embargo on the beleaguered regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Clean Water Another Victim of Syria’s War

Friday, July 24, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 24 (IPS) - Caught in the grips of a summer heat-wave, in a season that is seeing record-high temperatures worldwide, residents of the war-torn city of Aleppo in northern Syria are facing off against yet another enemy: thirst.

Beleaguered Syrians Comprise World’s ‘Biggest Refugee Population From a Single Conflict in a Generation’

Thursday, July 09, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 09 (IPS) - Barely 10 months ago, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said the refugee population from Syria had reached the three million mark. Today, the latest data from the field show that the number has passed four million.

Syrian Refugees Face Hunger Amidst Humanitarian Funding Crisis

Thursday, July 02, 2015

WASHINGTON, Jul 02 (IPS) - The United Nations' food aid organisation, the World Food Programme (WFP), said on Jul. 1 that up to 440,000 refugees from war-torn Syria might have to go hungry if no additional funds are received by August.

U.N. Secretary-General Calls for International Unity on Yemen and Syria

Thursday, April 09, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 09 (IPS) - "Political negotiations, not military intervention are the solution" said United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on the rapidly deteriorating conflict situation in Yemen and recent developments in Syria at the Yarmouk refugee camp.

Pledges for Humanitarian Aid to Syria Fall Short of Target by Billions

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

KUWAIT CITY, Mar 31 (IPS) - When United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stood before 78 potential donors at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait Tuesday, his appeal for funds had an ominous ring to it: the Syrian people, he remarked, "are victims of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time."

Cash-Strapped U.N. to Seek Funds for Syria at Pledging Conference in Kuwait

Friday, March 27, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 27 (IPS) - A cash-strapped United Nations, which is struggling to reach out to millions of Syrian refugees with food, medicine and shelter, is desperately in need of funds.

Global Citizenship Essential for Gender Equality: Ambassador Chowdhury

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 25 (IPS) - At a recent panel discussion on women's leadership during the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury was the lone male voice.

Veto Costs Lives as Syrian Civil War Passes Deadly Milestone

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 17 (IPS) - As the long drawn-out Syrian military conflict passed a four-year milestone over the weekend, the New York-based Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) summed it up in a striking headline: 4 years, 4 vetoes, 220,000 dead.

Syrians “Have No Faith” in International Community to Solve Human Rights Crisis

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 04 (IPS) - Syrian citizens "have no faith" in the international community to solve the chaos and war raging across their country, according to a prominent human rights defender.

Syrian Conflict Has Underlying Links to Climate Change, Says Study

Monday, March 02, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 02 (IPS) - Was the four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, mostly civilians, triggered at least in part by climate change?

Syria's 'Barrel Bombs' Cause Human Devastation, Says Rights Group

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 24 (IPS) - The warring parties in the brutal four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 civilians and triggered "the greatest refugee crisis in modern times," continue to break every single pledge held out to the United Nations.