Syrians brace for long, cold winter as fuel crisis bites
Damascus/Hama, Syria Reuters Mohammed Abu Ramadan can’t afford to keep his children warm this winter so he and his sister’s family in Damascus take it in turn to look after them – heating their homes only for the weeks that the young ones are staying. Like millions of Syrians who are unable to afford – or […]
Escalation of violence in Ukraine disrupts aid work
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations and other aid organisations in Ukraine said on Monday that Russia firing missiles at cities across the country had disrupted their humanitarian work on the ground. Russia hit sites across Ukraine, striking Kyiv with an intensity not seen since Russian forces sought to capture the capital early in the more […]
Ukraine war diverts attention from hunger, Pope says in Somalia appeal
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis said on Sunday that the war in Ukraine had distracted attention from the problem of world hunger and called for urgent food aid to stave off looming famine in Somalia. “The people of this region, who already live in very precarious conditions, are now in mortal danger because of drought,” he […]
Attacks in Sudan’s Darfur bring new surge in people fleeing their homes
Khartoum, SudanReuters Violence in western Sudan this month alone has displaced more than 84,000 people, doubling the number of those driven from their homes so far this year, according to UN reports. The numbers are the highest since January, 2021. Last year, at least 440,500 were displaced, five times more than in 2020, according to […]
Record numbers of people displaced in their own countries in a “world falling apart”
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters In a world beset by conflicts and natural disasters, the number of people who fled their homes and sought shelter within their own countries hit a record high of close to 60 million by the end of last year, according to new data. Disasters, including weather events such as cyclones and floods […]
At least 60 people killed in militia attack in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters At least 60 people were killed in a militia attack early on Wednesday at a displaced persons’ camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the head of a local humanitarian group and a camp resident. Both sources told Reuters that the CODECO militia was responsible for the […]
Aid group says 4,000 to 5,000 Afghans crossing into Iran daily
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters As many as 4,000 to 5,000 Afghans have been crossing into Iran daily since the Taliban seized Kabul in August and hundreds of thousands more are expected to arrive in the coming winter, the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Wednesday. The aid group said as many as 300,000 Afghans have crossed the border […]
Fighting displaces 200,000 in Ethiopia’s Amhara region – UN aid chief
Addis AbabaReuters United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Tuesday that accusations by Ethiopian authorities that aid workers were favouring and even arming Tigrayan forces were “dangerous”. “Blanket accusations [against] humanitarian aid workers need to stop…They need to be backed up by evidence if there is any and, frankly, it’s dangerous,” he said. An […]
Children seen at risk of recruitment in Central African Republic fighting
Thomson Reuters Foundation Armed groups have recruited nearly 3,000 children in Central African Republic since violence flared over a 27th December election result and more are at risk as aid fails to reach many people driven from their homes, aid workers said. More than 210,000 people have been uprooted by the fighting, with children increasingly […]
Pandemic, funding gaps seen fueling gender-based violence in Yemen
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Gender-based violence has surged by 63 per cent since conflict erupted in Yemen in 2015, aid groups said on Monday, warning that the pandemic was exposing inadequate funding for protection services in war zones around the world. Globally, at least 40 million people affected by war are at risk of sexual […]