Syria Crisis

Syria Map
Source: OCHA/ReliefWeb

The country

Syria (officially the Syrian Arab Republic) is a state in the Middle East with access to the Mediterranean Sea that gained independence from France in 1946. The state's capital is Damascus. The country shares land borders with Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Syria covers an area of 187,437 square kilometers. As of 2026, the country has an estimated population of around 25.6 million people.

The humanitarian situation

Since December 2024, approximately 4 million Syrians have voluntarily returned home following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government, marking the largest wave of returns to Syria in decades. However, the humanitarian crisis is far from over. Millions of people remain displaced, and the country's fragile recovery continues to be threatened by insecurity, explosive remnants of war, rising costs, and severe humanitarian funding gaps. 

The Syrian conflict has caused immense human suffering for people inside and outside the country. Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed or maimed, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.

In December 2024, Syria experienced a dramatic turn of events: rebel forces took control of the capital, Damascus, and President Bashar al-Assad resigned and fled the country after a swift offensive across Syria. This raised hopes that the 14-year civil war was coming to an end.

Though Syria entered a new era in 2025, the humanitarian crisis is nowhere near over. 

The country continues to experience one of the world’s most complex humanitarian situations, with an estimated 15.6 million people in need of assistance. Prolonged conflict, economic collapse, and climate-related disasters have driven the crisis, which is particularly dire in northwestern and northern Syria. The cumulative impact of armed conflict, the February 2023 earthquake, and recurring climate shocks, such as drought, has added to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and essential services.

For more than fourteen years, Syrian civilians endured massive and systematic violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Despite significant political changes in the country since 2025, the Syrian people continue to endure one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

As Syria navigates a pivotal moment in its history, immense challenges loom large. The fall of the Assad government and subsequent developments have raised hopes for an end to the civil war that began in 2011 and drastically changed the political landscape of the Middle Eastern country. Although some progress has been made, Syria's humanitarian needs remain immense. 

The war has devastated Syria's economy and infrastructure, leaving millions without adequate housing or reliable access to water, electricity, and other basic services. Years of war have pushed 90 percent of the population into poverty. The World Bank estimates that Syria’s post-conflict reconstruction will cost approximately US$216 billion.

After al-Assad was ousted, a new transitional government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa took office. Amid the dramatic events of December 2024, the United Nations urged international engagement and the urgent lifting of sanctions to support the country’s political transition.

Continuous hostilities in the north and south of the country, as well as along the coast, continue to create additional needs among the population, including concerns about protection and challenges to humanitarian access. Ongoing fighting and military operations in several parts of Syria leave people living in fear of attacks and at risk of renewed forced displacement.

The Syrian civil war has resulted in more than 600,000 deaths and damaged or destroyed much of the country's infrastructure. Over fourteen years of conflict have led to one of the world's largest displacement crises, with over 10 million people still displaced as of November 2026.

Since December 2024, Syria has gradually transitioned from a displacement-driven humanitarian crisis to a multifaceted phase of return and reintegration, characterized by substantial population movement. While there have been voluntary returns of internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees, significant challenges remain, including ongoing security concerns, limited access to essential services, and the need for effective reintegration.

As of November 2026, over 1.85 million refugees and more than 2.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin (since December 2024).

However, many returnees face damaged infrastructure, limited basic services, challenges related to their livelihoods, documentation issues, and exposure to explosive ordnance. This means that humanitarian assistance will remain essential for the foreseeable future. Humanitarian organizations warn that the scale and geographic concentration of returns are placing mounting pressure on public systems that are already under strain, and that these systems have uneven capacities for absorption across different governorates.

More than 5.5 million people remain internally displaced, nearly 800,000 of whom live in camps. Over 75 percent of these camp residents are women and children.

The prospects for the return of the approximately 4.6 million Syrian refugees living abroad are also uncertain. Syrians have primarily sought refuge in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Turkey currently hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, around 2.4 million. Germany ranks as the largest non-neighboring host country, with over 600,000 Syrian refugees.

As vulnerable IDPs, returnees—particularly those returning in adverse conditions—and host communities are predisposed to the adverse effects of the winter season, a winter response remains essential to the Syria response. Many have no viable coping mechanisms.

Approximately one-third of the population, or 7.2 million people, is food insecure, including 700,000 individuals who are experiencing severe food insecurity. Rising living costs are expected to push an additional 250,000 people into food insecurity in the coming months.

Due to funding constraints, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has reduced food assistance from 1.3 million to 650,000 people, prioritizing only the most vulnerable. WFP urgently requires $202 million over the next six months to restore assistance to 1.3 million people and sustain nutrition, livelihood, and social protection programs.

Meanwhile, health infrastructure remains severely strained after years of conflict. More than one-third of hospitals are operating only partially or not at all, and access to care for maternal health, newborns, and chronic diseases is extremely limited.

The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Syria seeks US$2.9 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 8.6 million of the most vulnerable people. As of November, only 34 percent of this year's humanitarian response plan for Syria has been funded.

The severe shortage of funding threatens to undermine fragile gains and exacerbate the plight of millions. Despite the lack of funds, more than 300 humanitarian organizations reached an average of 2.46 million people each month with humanitarian assistance, including food, healthcare, shelter, clean water, and education, between January and September of 2026.

In 2025, more than 16.5 million Syrians were in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, with women and children being disproportionately affected.  The 2025 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) requested $3.2 billion to provide aid to 13 million people. However, last year's humanitarian appeal was only 43 percent funded.

In 2024, approximately 16.7 million people required life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance and protection. The 2024 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) requested $4.4 billion to provide aid to 13 million people. However, as of December 2024, the UN's humanitarian appeal for those inside the country was only 31 percent funded.

The 2024 Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), led by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), sought $5.7 billion to assist 12.9 million people in Syria's neighboring countries. The 3RP aimed to reach 6.3 million refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless individuals, as well as over 6.6 million members of host communities. However, it was only 29 percent funded as of December.

The February 2023 earthquakes had lasting effects that exacerbated humanitarian needs. On February 6, 2023, two of the region's most powerful earthquakes in over 100 years struck southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border, measuring 7.8 and 7.7 on the Richter scale.

At least 18 million people were directly affected by the devastating earthquakes, which killed over 60,000 people and injured over 114,000 people in Turkey and Syria. At least 300,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, leaving many people homeless and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including large numbers of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The quakes also severely affected north-west Syria, where 4.2 million people depended on humanitarian aid to survive. According to the United Nations, 8.8 million people in Syria were affected by the earthquakes and needed assistance. In the north-west of the country in particular, the effects of the earthquakes have made reconstruction an extremely difficult task.

The revised 2023 HRP for Syria required $5.4 billion, but as of February 2024, it was only 38 percent funded — the worst-funded response plan since the conflict began. And only 6.8 million people (48 percent of the target population) were reached. The 2023 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan , which covered refugees and host communities across the region, requested $5.77 billion but was only 14 percent funded as of February 2024.

In 2022, the United Nations appealed for $4.44 billion in funding for the Syrian crisis. As of December 2022, only $2.11 billion had been received from donors (47 percent funded).

Syria LocationThe security situation

The Syrian conflict was a multifaceted civil war fought on Syrian territory between government forces and various domestic and foreign warring factions that opposed both the government and each other in various combinations. Until December 8, 2024, the government was controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, who has since resigned and fled the country.

Inspired by popular uprisings in other Arab countries, protests against the Syrian government began in March 2011 due to widespread dissatisfaction. The protests escalated into an armed conflict after the government violently suppressed demonstrations calling for Assad's resignation.

Several foreign states, including Russia, Turkey, Iran, and the United States, intervened directly in the conflict or supported one faction or another. The conflict was largely defined by three military campaigns: violence between the Syrian government and opposing forces; US attempts to defeat the Islamic State; and Turkey's military operations against Syrian Kurds.

With Russian and Iranian support, the Syrian government regained control of many areas from opposition forces by 2020. After the government reestablished control over most of the country, the violence subsided. Opposition forces maintained limited control in Idlib in north-west Syria and along the Iraqi-Syrian border in the north-east. A ceasefire had been in place since March 2020 between government and opposition forces in the north-west. In the north-east, a ceasefire had been agreed upon in October 2019.

For four years, the fronts had largely remained frozen. However, the international community had failed to take advantage of the relative calm to launch a credible political process. Negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition forces proved unsuccessful in resolving the conflict.

On November 27, 2024, multiple rebel groups under the leadership of the non-state armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad's rule in years. In just over a week, the opposition forces made stunning gains, first taking the north-west city of Aleppo and then towns and villages in the Idlib Governorate.

Encouraged by their success, the armed groups advanced on the central city of Hama and then Homs, capturing both cities. These rapid developments marked a major turning point in the Syrian conflict. On December 7, rebel forces made further significant advances across the country, reportedly aided by rebel groups joining from the south, and advanced toward the capital.

The next day, December 8, HTS announced Assad's fall in a statement broadcast live on Syrian state television, declaring the beginning of a new era for the country torn apart by years of civil war. The ousting effectively ended the government's control over the country and more than 50 years of Baath Party rule. The Assad family had controlled Syria since 1971: first Hafez Assad, then his son Bashar Assad.

On March 29, Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, announced the formation of a new government, stressing the need for unity in order to rebuild the state. Fighting corruption, revitalizing institutions, and strengthening the economy are among the new government's key priorities.

Following the indirect elections for the transitional People’s Assembly held in late 2025, the transitional parliament formally convened its legislative sessions in mid-2026 as part of broader state-building efforts, institutional reforms, and ongoing negotiations to roll back international economic sanctions.

Although a new transitional government is now in place, the country remains fragmented among various armed groups, and ongoing conflicts and human rights violations continue to threaten stability and peace. 

HTS and armed groups under the umbrella of the Syrian National Army (SNA) dominate most of the west and north—including Damascus, Aleppo, and Idlib. In the north-east, following military agreements and subsequent negotiations, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) officially announced its dissolution as an independent military entity in August 2026, integrating its forces and administrative structures into the unified Syrian state. Concurrently, presidential decrees have been enacted to resolve long-standing issues of statelessness among Syrian Kurds.

However, ongoing security hurdles—including localized sectarian tensions stemming from the 2025 flare-ups in coastal and southern governorates, economic pressures, and persistent military actions and airstrikes by Israel across southern Syria, Damascus, and other regions—continue to challenge the transitional government's sovereignty and overall stability.

Other foreign powers continue to exert influence, among them Turkey, Russia, Israel, and the United States. Russia maintains bases on the coast and Israel has expanded the territory under its control, launching hundreds of airstrikes across Syria since December 8 last year in the south-west, the coast, the north-east, Damascus, Hama, and Homs, threatening Syria's fragile political transition.

Ongoing fighting in several parts of Syria continues to leave people living in fear of attacks and at risk of fresh displacement. Humanitarian experts warn that conditions in Syria are "far from fully stable or conducive", raising concerns about premature returns and renewed displacement.

In early March 2025, more than 1,000 people were killed in several days of clashes between Syrian security forces and supporters of former President al-Assad in the Tartus, Lattakia, Homs, and Hama governorates, followed by large-scale massacres — marking some of the deadliest violence since the beginning of Syria's civil war. These clashes signaled a significant escalation in opposition to the transitional government in Damascus, occurring just three months after insurgents had seized power.

In July 2025, deadly hostilities erupted in the Suweida Governorate triggered by a conflict between Bedouin tribal forces and local armed groups drawn from the Druze community. The ensuing violence claimed more than 1,000 lives and left the region in turmoil. Escalating violence, including mutual shelling and airstrikes carried out by Israeli forces, preceded the conflict.

The violence included the arbitrary killing of civilians, the forced displacement of people, abductions, sectarian incitement, hate speech, and the burning and looting of private property in the Druze-majority governorate.  Although a ceasefire is in place, localized tensions have increased in recent weeks, including armed clashes and criminal activities.

The security situation in southern Syria remains unpredictable, with ongoing incidents perpetuating instability. In Suweida Governorate, essential services are under strain due to the conflict, economic decline, and administrative hurdles, resulting in disruptions to the food, health, and agriculture sectors.

In addition, Syria remains one of the countries most contaminated by explosive ordnance (EO), posing an ongoing threat to community safety and hindering return and recovery efforts.

Donations

Your donation for the Syria emergency can help United Nations agencies, international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their local partners to rapidly provide water, food, medicine, shelter and other aid to the people who need it most.

To find other organizations to which you can donate, visit: Humanitarian Crisis Relief, Refugees and IDPs, Children in Need, Hunger and Food Insecurity, Medical Humanitarian Aid, Vulnerable Groups, Faith-Based Humanitarian Organizations, and Human Rights Organizations.

Further information

Last updated: 2026/11/13

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