Donor countries meeting in Oslo on Friday pledged $672 million (634 million euros) in emergency aid for people threatened by famine in the Lake Chad region, which has been hard hit by Boko Haram, hosts Norway said. The amount was pledged over three years, and was aimed at helping 10.7 million people in need. The … Read more
Seven million Yemenis are closer than ever to starvation, the UN humanitarian coordinator in the country warned Tuesday, almost two years since a conflict escalated between the government and rebels. “Seven million Yemenis do not know where their next meal will come from and are ever closer to starvation” in a country of 27 million … Read more
Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday urged all warring parties in Yemen to allow aid deliveries, saying it had treated more than 55,000 people wounded during a Saudi-led intervention in the country. “Since the violence escalated in March 2015, MSF has treated… more than 55,000 war-wounded patients across the country,” said Djoen Besselink, using the French … Read more
A heartbroken United Nations chief on Sunday called for the “resurrection” of peace talks between Yemen’s warring sides to end the suffering of civilians. Thousands of people have died in Yemen and millions are struggling to feed themselves almost two years after a Saudi-led coalition intervened to support Yemen’s government and halt an advance by … Read more
The conflict-driven food crisis in Yemen could become a full-blown famine this year, the UN’s humanitarian chief has warned. Two million people need emergency food aid to survive and child malnutrition has risen 63% in a year, Stephen O’Brien told the UN Security Council. A child under five dies every 10 minutes of preventable causes, … Read more
The number of people living under siege in Syria has doubled this year to almost one million, the UN says. Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Stephen O’Brien said the figure had jumped from 486,700 to 974,080 in six months. People were being “isolated, starved, bombed and denied medical attention and humanitarian assistance in order to force them … Read more
The United Nations has abandoned plans to evacuate patients from besieged rebel-held east Aleppo which it had hoped to accomplish during a three day lull in fighting last week, blaming all parties to the conflict for obstructing efforts. “The evacuations were obstructed by various factors, including delays in receiving the necessary approvals from local authorities … Read more
Iraqi pro-government forces have made gains at the start of a large-scale operation to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country. Iraqi government troops and Kurdish fighters launched their push towards the city in the early hours of Monday. IS seized Mosul during a lightning offensive in … Read more
The US government has expressed “outrage” over an attack on an aid convoy near the Syrian city of Aleppo that, a war monitor says, left 12 dead. The UN has confirmed that the convoy was hit near the town of Urm al-Kubra, without giving details. But activists say an air strike hit the trucks hours … Read more
A week-old truce in Syria brokered by the US and Russia appears close to unravelling, with alleged violations by government and rebel forces mounting. A US-backed rebel group in the divided northern city of Aleppo said the initiative had “practically failed”. Rebels also warned that the forced evacuation of some 300 fighters from a besieged … Read more
Russia and the US have announced an agreement on Syria starting with a “cessation of hostilities” from sunset on Monday. Under the plan, the Syrian government will end combat missions in specified areas held by the opposition. Russia and the US will establish a joint centre to combat so-called Islamic State and al-Nusra fighters. The … Read more