War

Colombia's Catatumbo region has descended into an acute humanitarian crisis following intensified violent clashes between non-state armed groups (NSAGs), in particular the National Liberation Army (ELN) and splinter groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). With more than 80 people killed in armed violence, President Gustavo Petro Urrego suspended peace talks with the ELN.

Syria has announced Thursday it would allow the United Nations the temporary use of Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey for six months to reach millions of Syrians living in areas outside the government's control in the country’s northwest. The United Nations says it is studying the Syrian offer and, as of Friday, had not moved any aid through the crossing.

Multiple unending conflicts, climate change and a blatant disregard for long-established international humanitarian law (IHL) will leave a staggering 305 million people in need of humanitarian aid next year, the UN's top aid official warned on Wednesday, as the United Nations launched an appeal for US$47.4 billion to provide life-saving relief in more than 30 countries and 9 refugee-hosting regions.

A new shocking record of 383 aid workers killed in 2024 must be a wake-up call to protect all civilians in conflict and crisis, and to end impunity, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday, marking World Humanitarian Day. Most of the aid workers killed last year were national staff members who were attacked in the line of duty or in their homes while serving their communities.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says it has been getting increasing amounts of aid to the war-torn Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. But in its latest situation report, released Thursday, OCHA warned malnutrition rates are critical and alarmingly high, and despite a November peace deal between Ethiopia’s federal and Tigrayan authorities, the access to provide relief aid remains difficult in some areas.

Senior UN officials warn that the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) decades-long human rights crisis is on a downward spiral as armed clashes, attacks on schools and hospitals, sexual violence and other forms of abuse escalate. Opening a discussion at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, UN rights chief Volker Türk urged the international community to pay more attention to the plight of Congolese civilians.

Leading United Nations agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), warn that millions of people in the greater Horn of Africa are trapped in an emergency hunger and health crisis driven by overlapping disasters, including climate change and conflict. WHO’s Greater Horn of Africa region includes the seven affected countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Violette Kakyomya, warned on Monday that the country is facing multiples humanitarian crises and called for urgent support.  The conflict in Sudan is having a strong impact on neighboring Chad, with nearly 490,000 Sudanese refugees – mostly women and children – having crossed the border into the eastern part of the Sahel country to seek safety. In total, there are currently one million refugees living in Chad. 

Humanitarian needs in dozens of conflict zones from Yemen to Somalia, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are rising, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns today. The humanitarian organization fears that this pattern will continue in 2023. ICRC says for the millions of people in these conflicts reliant on humanitarian assistance greater support is desperately needed to save lives and avert further suffering.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that this year's record-breaking heat is likely to continue in 2025, further accelerating climate change and leading to catastrophic consequences, unless urgent action is taken to curb the "human activities" behind this looming disaster.  According to the United Nations weather agency, 2024 is set to be the hottest year on record, "capping a decade of unprecedented heat fueled by human activities."

A new United Nations report - out this week - warns that the spread of conflict, armed violence, climate hazards and economic stress are driving severe hunger and, in some cases, famine conditions in 22 countries and territories, with no likelihood of improvement in the next six months. Acute food insecurity in these hotspots will increase in scale and severity, pushing millions of people to the brink.

According to the United Nations, large numbers of children are dying every month from malnutrition, measles and diarrhea, and other preventable diseases in Sudan, where armed conflict has displaced more than 5.3 million people from their homes. Between May 15 and September 14, at least 1,200 children under the age of five died from a deadly combination of a suspected measles outbreak and high malnutrition in nine camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sudan's White Nile state alone.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that Palestinians in northern Gaza are experiencing extreme suffering as the Israeli siege of the area continues. OCHA says there are harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction in the north. Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) describe apocalyptic scenes as atrocities against civilians and attacks on hospitals intensify.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned Wednesday about a “looming hunger catastrophe” in Sudan, where months of conflict, high food prices and lower crop yields have left an increasing number of people at emergency levels of hunger. According to latest IPC food security analysis released Tuesday, some 17.7 million people across Sudan face high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse between October 2023 and February 2024.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children says more than 140,000 people in the Malian town of Menaka, including 80,000 children, face malnutrition and disease due to a blockade by Islamic State-linked insurgents. The humanitarian organization warns that the months-long blockade has driven supplies to alarmingly low levels as aid agencies and Malian government programs struggle to deliver basic necessities.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has instructed UN agencies, funds and programs to suspend all activities in Yemen's Houthi-controlled Saada governorate for security reasons, his spokesperson said on Monday. The measure follows the recent detention by Houthi rebels of eight more United Nations staff members, including six working in the governorate.

United Nations agencies warn that South Sudan continues to face a severe food and nutrition crisis which threatens to worsen unless urgent humanitarian action is mounted. According to the latest food security report, over half of South Sudan's population — around 7.56 million people — will experience crisis-level or worse hunger during the lean season from April to July 2026 while, in the coming months, tens of thousands are at risk of famine.

South Sudanese farmers who have relied on United Nations agencies operating in the country say they fear losing a ready market for their produce if the UN follows through on its threat to scale down operations in the world's newest nation. This comes after the United States, the European Union and other countries expressed concern over Juba's decision to impose taxes on some goods purchased by the UN.