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 2025, the country has an estimated population of around 25.6 million people.

The humanitarian situation

The Syrian conflict has inflicted enormous human suffering on people inside and outside the country. Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed— and many more have been injured — while millions have been forced to flee their homes.

The country is experiencing one of the world’s most severe and complex humanitarian situations, which is driven by prolonged conflict, economic collapse, and climate-related disasters. The crisis is particularly dire in north-west and northern Syria, where the cumulative impact of armed conflict,, the February 2023 earthquake, and recurring climate shocks, such as drought, have ed to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and essential services.

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

As Syria stands at a turning point in its history, immense challenges lie ahead. The fall of the Assad government and subsequent developments have raised hopes for an end to the civil war that began in 2011, which drastically changed the political landscape of the Middle Eastern country.

The war has devastated Syria's economy and infrastructure, leaving millions without adequate housing, reliable access to water and electricity, and other basic services. Although some progress has been made, Syria's humanitarian needs remain immense. Years of war have pushed 90 percent of the population into poverty.

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, UN officials have stressed the need for international engagement and urgent sanctions relief to support the country’s political transition.

Although Syria entered a new era in 2025, the humanitarian crisis is far from over. Continuous hostilities in northern and southern parts of the country, as well as in the coastal area, continue to trigger further needs among the population, including protection concerns, and challenges to humanitarian access. Ongoing fighting in several parts of Syria leaves people living in fear of attacks and at risk of renewed forced displacement.

Record-high food prices, socioeconomic deterioration, ongoing displacement, climatic shocks, and disease continue to exacerbate humanitarian needs, leaving more than two-thirds of the Syrian population in need of assistance. 

According to estimates, the Syrian civil war has resulted in more than 600,000 deaths while damaging or destroying much of the country's infrastructure. Over fourteen years of conflict have led to one of the world's largest displacement crises, with over 12 million people still displaced as of the third quarter of 2025.

Although there have been voluntary returns of both internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees, major challenges remain, including ongoing security concerns, limited access to essential services, and the need for robust reintegration programs.

As of October 2025, approximately 1.1 million Syrians had returned from other countries, and nearly 1.9 million internally displaced people (IDPs) had returned to their areas of origin or choice since December 8, 2024. However, approximately 900,000 people have been newly displaced in 2025 alone.

Currently, approximately 7 million people remain displaced within Syria, including 1.3 million living in camps highly vulnerable to winter conditions. Over 5 million Syrians have sought refuge abroad, primarily in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Turkey, a neighboring country, hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, currently around 2.4 million. Germany is the largest non-neighboring host country, with over 600,000 Syrian refugee residents.

Over half of the population — 12.9 million people — is food insecure, with nearly 3 million facing severe food insecurity. The situation is further compounded by the drought-like conditions Syria is experiencing, the worst in more than 36 years, which have had devastating impacts on food security, access to water, and the spread of diseases.

Mewanwhile, the health system is severely strained: 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.

As the Syrian crisis remains one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, developments on the ground continue to worsen the situation. In 2025, more than 16.5 million Syrians still need humanitarian assistance and protection, with women and children disproportionately affected.

After more than 14 years of conflict, children continue to pay the highest price with some 6.5 million in need of humanitarian aid. Half a million of these children are chronically malnourished, and most have experienced nothing but violent conflict their entire lives.

However, a severe lack of funding threatens to undermine fragile progress and exacerbate the suffering of millions. As of October, only 20 percent of this year's humanitarian response plan for Syria has been funded, one of the lowest levels among the largest UN-coordinated appeals.

Funding shortfalls threaten the scale and continuity of emergency operations, and are already having severe consequences. For example, over 340 health facilities have suspended services, reducing access to healthcare and medicine for more than 7 million people.

Concurrently, the socioeconomic situation in Syria remains dire. Poverty is pushing vulnerable communities deeper into hardship and insecurity. Freezing temperatures and recurring heat waves continue to endanger the lives of the 2 million people living in camps in north-west Syria. Of these, some 800,000 people living in tents, often in overcrowded conditions, are particularly vulnerable to extreme temperatures.

Following the escalation of the Israeli war on Lebanon from September 23 to November 27, 2024, more than 557,000 Lebanese and Syrians fled Lebanon for Syria in desperation.

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.

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 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. Indirect elections for the transitional People’s Assembly were held on October 5 and were largely peaceful.

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 - while the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) hold parts of the north-east. In the south, various armed groups exercise territorial control.

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.

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: 29/10/2025

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