Syria Crisis Claimed 220,000 Lives in 5 Years
World leaders must put their differences aside and work to bring about meaningful change in Syria, where the country’s ongoing brutal conflict is preparing to enter its fifth year, senior United Nations (UN) officials have urged.
“We have expressed our horror, our outrage, our frustration as we have watched the tragedy unfold,” the UN’s senior humanitarian officials said in a joint statement, highlighting a crisis that has already claimed over 220,000 lives.
More than 12.2 million people continue to require life-saving aid as a result of the conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011. The conflict has also provoked massive displacement with more than 4 million people having sought refuge in neighbouring countries, while a further 7.6 million are displaced within Syria.
[ Are You Aware of the Severity of Syria Crisis? ]
To raise awareness of the dire situation facing Syrians, the UN has launched the #WhatDoesItTake social media campaign to give the public, Member States and the wider international community an opportunity to express their frustrations and urge support.
The UN officials called on the global community to press all parties to the conflict to end indiscriminate attacks on civilians, lift the sieges of cities where civilians remain trapped without food, enable the delivery of vital surgical and other medical supplies, and avoid the complete collapse of the Syria’s education system.
