The historic power shift in Syria is raising hopes for an end to nearly 14 years of brutal war and one of the world's largest and worst humanitarian crises. Since the fall of the Assad government on Sunday, senior United Nations officials have highlighted the opportunities of the watershed moment, but also reminded of the realities - that more than 16 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and at least 13.6 million Syrians have been displaced by the war.
âSyria is at a crossroads â between peace and war, stability and lawlessness, reconstruction or further ruin,â UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Monday.
âAfter 14 years of conflict, recent developments bring hope that the suffering of the Syrian people may finally end, and that the worldâs largest forced displacement crisis can move towards just solutions.â
Grandi said there is a remarkable opportunity for Syria to move toward peace and for its people to begin returning home.
âBut with the situation still uncertain, millions of refugees are carefully assessing how safe it is to do so,â he said, reminding that the needs within Syria remain immense.
âWith shattered infrastructure and over 90 percent of the population relying on humanitarian aid, urgent assistance is required as winter approaches â including shelter, food, water, and warmth.â
At least 80 children have been killed in Syria in the past two weeks, the head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Monday.
âWith the situation in Syria rapidly evolving, UNICEF reiterates the UN Secretary-Generalâs appeal for calm, to refrain from violence, and to protect the rights of all Syrians â especially children,â UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.
âHumanitarian conditions inside the country are dire, with millions of children and families facing extreme deprivation. More than a decade of war has caused massive damage to critical infrastructure, widescale displacement, and severely limited access to essential services â including safe water, sanitation, protection, education, health, and nutrition.â
UNICEF calls on all parties to ensure that humanitarian actors have safe and unhindered access to reach children and families with assistance, so that they can rapidly scale up their response to meet the growing humanitarian needs.
âUNICEF also calls on all parties to commit to a sustained peace, so that Syriaâs children can survive and thrive. The children in Syria have suffered enough. They deserve a future of peace, dignity, and opportunity,â Russell said.
In a statement on Sunday, UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres called for calm, the protection of human rights and international support for an inclusive political transition. Stressing Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, he urged Syrians to seize the opportunity to rebuild their country.
âAfter 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future,â the UN chief said.
âThe future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine, and my Special Envoy will be working with them towards that end.â
His envoy, Geir Pedersen, said the country is at a " watershed moment" in its history, with immense challenges ahead, and must avoid bloodshed and preserve unity in the transition.
âThis dark chapter has left deep scars, but today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new time â one of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and inclusion for all Syrians,â UN Syria envoy Pedersen told reporters in Doha, Qatar on Sunday where he was attending meetings about the situation.
âTo those displaced, this moment renews the vision of returning to homes once lost. To families separated by war, the beginning of reunions bring hope. To those unjustly detained, and the families of the detained and the missing, the opening of the prisons reminds us of justiceâs eventual reach.â
Pedersen urged all Syrians to prioritize dialogue, unity, and respect for international humanitarian law and human rights âas they seek to rebuild their society. Let me stress that there must be a collective effort to secure peace and dignity for all.â
He said he is ready to support the Syrian people in their journey toward a stable and inclusive future that they will decide and shape themselves.
âIt's extremely important that we now see on the ground a development that proves that we can achieve, you know, a transition to what I hope will be a democratic future for Syria,â he emphasized.
Pedersen is currently back in Geneva, continuing talks with key international players. The UN envoy was due to brief the UN Security Council on his efforts in a closed-door meeting this afternoon.
The UN has been involved in efforts to end the Syrian conflict since it began in 2011. Security Council Resolution 2254 in 2015 laid out a roadmap for a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led process, with UN facilitation, to reach a political solution. The mediation has been stalled for years. Pedersen is the fourth in a series of UN envoys who have tried to resolve the conflict.
On November 27, 2024, multiple rebel groups aligned under the leadership of the non-state armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched the biggest challenge to President Bashar Assad's rule in years. The opposition forces made stunning gains in just over a week, first taking the north-west city of Aleppo and then towns and villages in the Idlib Governorate.
Emboldened, armed groups advanced on the central city of Hama and then Homs, which they captured. These rapid developments marked a major turning point in the Syrian conflict. On December 7, 2024, rebel forces made further significant advances across the country, reportedly aided by rebel groups joining from the south, and made their way to the capital.
On December 8, 2024, HTS announced the fall of Assad in a statement broadcast live on Syrian state television, saying it was the beginning of a new era for the country torn apart by nearly 14 years of civil war. The ouster effectively ends the government's control over the country and more than 50 years of Baath Party rule. The Assad family had been in control of Syria since 1971, first Hafez Assad and then his son Bashar Assad.
âIn Syria yesterday, we saw a regime driven from power following decades of brutal repression, and after nearly 14 years of relentless conflict. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost during this time, more than 100,000 people disappeared, and some 14 million were driven from their homes, often in the most atrocious circumstances,â UN human rights chief Volker TĂŒrk told reporters on Monday.
TĂŒrk offered a cautious welcome to the initial announcements by the new de facto rulers in Damascus, stressing the need for a "very inclusive dialogue" with Syrian civil society representatives - and for the international community to remain vigilant to ensure that happens.
âAll measures must be taken to ensure the protection of all minorities, and to avert reprisals and acts of revenge,â he said.
TĂŒrk also warned that hostilities are reportedly continuing in some parts of Syria, including the north-east.
Recent fighting that led to the transfer of power has reportedly killed hundreds of civilians and increased humanitarian needs across Syria.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday that at least 1 million people - most of them women and children - have been uprooted in the latest fighting in Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Idlib governorates since November 28.
OCHA also reports "significant and growing" returns to Syrian cities, where reception centers are overcrowded and resources are limited.
âThere is an urgent need for more shelter, food, non-food items, and sanitation facilities", it said in an update.
The UN relief office reports that transport routes have been disrupted, limiting the movement of people and goods - and the delivery of humanitarian aid. Some looting of civilian properties and factories, as well as warehouses of humanitarian supplies, has also been reported.
In north-west Syria meanwhile, all humanitarian agencies have resumed regular operations in Idlib and northern Aleppo, and the three border crossings from Turkey for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria are open.
North-west Syria is home to 4.2 million people, 80 percent of whom are internally displaced, having fled the war several times. Lack of funding this year has led to the suspension of aid and essential services, including water and sanitation support in hundreds of camps and health services in more than 80 health facilities.
More than 13 years after civil war broke out in the country, Syrians are living through one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. Across Syria, 16.7 million people - more than 70 percent of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, with women and children particularly affected.
The Syrian people have been subjected to massive and systematic violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and maimed.
Before the recent escalation, some 13.6 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of the war. While 7.2 million women, men and children were internally displaced within their own country, the civil war had led to more than 6.4 million Syrian refugees, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Germany.
An estimated 15.4 million people inside the country face acute food insecurity, 1.8 million people urgently need access to safe drinking water, and more than 500,000 children require life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition.
Even before the latest escalation, the situation was particularly dire in the north-west of the country bordering Turkey, with nearly half of Syria's displaced people living in Idleb and Aleppo.
The increased humanitarian needs come at a time when the humanitarian response is facing its worst funding gap since the start of the Syrian crisis. The 2024 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is the largest humanitarian funding appeal this year. With less than a month left in the year, the Syria HRP has secured only 31 percent of the $4.07 billion needed to help the most vulnerable.