HIGHLIGHTS
UN-led peace talks commence in Geneva on February 23
Up to 10,000 people flee from opposition-held areas of Dar’a amid recent clashes
Insecurity prompts UN to suspend cross-border assistance via the Bab alHawa,
Ramtha border crossingsRelief agencies express concern regarding recent attacks on health infrastructure and personnel
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
On February 23, parties to the conflict, including the Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) and several armed opposition groups, met in Geneva, Switzerland, for the start of the fourth round of UN-mediated peace negotiations. Facilitated by the UN SecretaryGeneral’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, the Geneva IV conference aims to facilitate a political solution to the conflict and pave the path for a political transition based on UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2254, which calls for a new constitution, free and fair elections within 18 months, and transparent governance; the UN Security Council unanimously adopted UNSCR 2254 in December 2015.
The Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, the coordinating body for humanitarian CCCM activities, comprising UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders, recorded nearly 606,600 displacements, including approximately 49,500 new displacements, from conflict-affected areas in northern and southern Syria between February 1 and 14. The figure includes nearly 592,600 people displaced from northern Syria’s Aleppo, Dayr az Zawr, Al Hasakah, Hamah, Homs, Idlib, Lattakia, and Ar Raqqah governorates and nearly 14,000 people displaced from Damascus and Rif Damascus governorates.
Humanitarian conditions in besieged and military-encircled areas of Rif Damascus, as well as the besieged neighborhood of Al Wa’er in the city of Homs, Homs, worsened in January, according to humanitarian organizations.