Over 880,000 people displaced in Syria: UN

More than 880,000 people have been displaced since the latest escalation of hostilities in Syria, UN humanitarians said. United Nations partner organisations estimated that around 6 per cent of the displaced are living with at least one form of disability, the Xinhua news agency reported.

'Return movements remain dynamic, with partners recording more than 220,000 returnees yesterday [Sunday, 15 December],' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. 'Additionally, over 40,000 displaced people are staying in around 250 collective centres across northeast Syria.'

The office said the United Nations and partners continue to support the relief response by supplying food, water, cash, tents, and blankets. The world body is also deploying medical teams and supplies.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross, in collaboration with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), conducted a joint mission to the Tishreen Dam facility in Syria's Aleppo governorate on Friday, 13 December, for urgent and critical repairs.

UNICEF also secured fuel to power the backup generator, enabling the safe drainage of the dam and safeguarding water supplies. Hostilities near the dam last week led to an extended electricity outage and disrupted water and other key services, affecting millions of people in the area.

On 16 December, Tom Fletcher, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, met Syrian transitional authorities in Damascus to discuss the relief response.

"At a time of such rapid changes and longstanding needs in the region, Fletcher's trip will also include stopovers in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan," OCHA said of his one-week Middle East visit. Authorities also reported a complicated flow of displaced people across the Lebanon–Syria border.

OCHA said that since 8 December, Lebanese authorities had recorded less than 10,000 Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon to Syria.

Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency reported that Lebanese authorities estimated around 30,000 displaced people returned from Syria to Lebanon as of Friday, 13 December, including mostly Syrians but also Lebanese nationals, since the 27 November cessation of hostilities announcement for Lebanon.

The International Organisation for Migration reported a fluid situation with fluctuating movements continuing daily through both formal and informal border crossings.

Humanitarians reported earlier that Syrian border officials abandoned their posts following the Damascus takeover.