UN Official: Up to 1.5 Million People Could Flee Syrian Escalation

A photo taken from the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Jusiyeh border crossing with Quseir in Syria's central Homs province on October 25, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Up to 1.5 million people could be forced to flee a surge in fighting in Syria, a senior UN official said on Friday, as the opposition pressed on with their lightning offensive against government forces.
The violence has already displaced 280,000 people since it erupted in late November, Samer AbdelJaber, the World Food Program's Director for Emergency Coordination, Strategic Analysis and Humanitarian Diplomacy, told reporters in Geneva.
"If the situation continues evolving (at the same) ... pace, we're expecting collectively around 1.5 million people that will be displaced and will be requiring our support," he added.
After years locked behind frozen front lines, the opposition have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to reel off the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street uprising mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago, Reuters said.
Aid agencies say they have only been able to raise less than a third of the $4 billion they said they needed to run programs in 2024, before the new fighting started.
Earlier this month, the UN humanitarian office said it had had to cut food rations in Syria by up to 80% due to insufficient funds.
"The situation in Syria was not easy before this escalation, so we're looking at a crisis on top of the crisis. And that's why we're really emphasizing the urgent need for funding," Abdeljaber said.