World News in Brief: violence spurs displacement in Syria, Israeli forces cross the Blue Line in Lebanon, mall fire kills dozens in Iraq

World News in Brief: violence spurs displacement in Syria, Israeli forces cross the Blue Line in Lebanon, mall fire kills dozens in Iraq

As of Thursday, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from violence-affected areas in Sweida governate and are currently sheltering in a dozen collective sites. Many are unable to return home due to damage, looting or destruction of their homes. The health systems in Sweida and neighbouring Dar’a governorate remain under critical strain, operating without power […]

Displacement, poverty and insecurity fueling violence against women in Gaza

Displacement, poverty and insecurity fueling violence against women in Gaza

In the past three months, a third of Gaza’s population (714,000 people) have been forced to move once again, separating families and dismantling local support systems. Women and girls are bearing a heavy burden, fearing for their lives on the streets – at delivery points, and in overcrowded, makeshift shelters that lack privacy and security […]

World News in Brief: Inter-ethnic violence in Syria, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, global information security

World News in Brief: Inter-ethnic violence in Syria, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, global information security

The violence erupted two days after a Druze merchant was abducted on the highway to Damascus. The incident marks the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since Islamist rebels toppled former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December and installed a new caretaker Government, which is gaining increasing international […]

150,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh amid renewed Myanmar violence

150,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh amid renewed Myanmar violence

As armed clashes intensify and conditions worsen inside Myanmar, thousands continue to cross the border seeking safety in the overcrowded camps of Cox’s Bazar, where nearly one million Rohingya refugees already live in densely populated camps. “This is the largest movement of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh since 2017,” said Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the UN […]

DR Congo: Despite efforts towards a political solution, violence still rages in the east

DR Congo: Despite efforts towards a political solution, violence still rages in the east

Since January, the region has seen a new escalation of violence as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched an offensive in North and South Kivu provinces. While tensions persist in the DRC, both frontlines and negotiation positions are shifting, paving the way for peace, the Security Council heard this Friday. The path to lasting peace in the DRC requires […]

UN rights office ‘horrified’ by deadly violence at Gaza food distribution sites

UN rights office ‘horrified’ by deadly violence at Gaza food distribution sites

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Wednesday called on the Israeli military to cease the use of lethal force near aid convoys and food distribution sites. It cited “repeated incidents” of Palestinians being shot or shelled while seeking food, warning that such attacks could constitute war crimes under international […]

Gang violence displaces a record 1.3 million Haitians

Gang violence displaces a record 1.3 million Haitians

This represents a 24 per cent increase from December 2024 according to the UN agency, which also noted that this increase has produced the largest number of people displaced by violence on record there. “Behind these numbers are so many individual people whose suffering is immeasurable; children, mothers, the elderly, many of them forced to […]

Myanmar on the ‘path to self-destruction’ if violence does not end

Myanmar on the ‘path to self-destruction’ if violence does not end

Since then, “there has been no end to the violence, even though thousands have been killed and thousands more injured,” said UN Special Envoy to Myanmar, Julie Bishop, on Tuesday, briefing the General Assembly. “I have stressed consistently that without a ceasefire, a de-escalation of violence and a focus on the needs of the people, […]

Sudan: Rise in people fleeing to Chad as violence surges

Sudan: Rise in people fleeing to Chad as violence surges

Overall, some 1.2 million Sudanese have found shelter in eastern Chad, mostly after fleeing intensifying violence in their country.  More than 844,000 crossed the border after war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. Prior to this, Chad was hosting roughly 409,000 Sudanese refugees who had fled earlier conflict in Darfur. ‘A crisis of humanity’ […]

World News in Brief: Education suffers amid DR Congo violence, WHO greenlights RSV vaccines, more hurricanes ahead for Haiti

World News in Brief: Education suffers amid DR Congo violence, WHO greenlights RSV vaccines, more hurricanes ahead for Haiti

According to UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, more than 290 schools have been damaged or destroyed in Ituri this year alone, bringing the total number of out-of-school children in the province to over 1.3 million. Protection crisis Between January and April 2025, a surge in violence displaced more than 100,000 people – half of them children. […]

UN warns of ‘catastrophic’ human rights crisis in Myanmar as violence and economic collapse deepen

UN warns of ‘catastrophic’ human rights crisis in Myanmar as violence and economic collapse deepen

Published ahead of the Human Rights Council’s upcoming session, the report highlighted the worsening situation since the military coup in 2021, which derailed Myanmar’s democratic transition and ignited widespread armed resistance. In the years since, military forces have targeted civilian populations with airstrikes, artillery bombardments and other forms of violence, while anti-military armed groups have […]

Escalating violence drives food crisis across eastern DR Congo, warns WFP

Escalating violence drives food crisis across eastern DR Congo, warns WFP

Conflict has plagued the DRC for decades, particularly in the east. Armed clashes escalated sharply this year as M23 rebels wrested control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January, followed by Bukavu in South Kivu a month later. The security and humanitarian situation further deteriorated with recent outbreaks of anthrax and mpox in April and […]

Guterres condemns violence against civilians in Syria, urges Israel to stop attacks

Guterres condemns violence against civilians in Syria, urges Israel to stop attacks

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday that the Secretary-General “has been monitoring with alarm the reports of violence in the suburbs of Damascus and in the south of Syria, including reports of civilian casualties and assassination of local administration figures.” More than 100 people have reportedly been killed in recent days during clashes with […]

Haiti: Mass displacement and deportation surge amid violence

Haiti: Mass displacement and deportation surge amid violence

Between January 1 and March 31, at least 1,617 people were killed and 580 others injured in violence involving gangs, self-defence groups, or other members of the population, as well as during security force operations, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). At least 161 kidnappings for ransom were recorded, 63% of […]

Syria: UN envoy warns of escalating violence in Syria

Syria: UN envoy warns of escalating violence in Syria

He described the latest clashes as “unacceptable” and warned of the risk of further escalation in what he called an “extremely fragile situation”. Fighting erupted earlier this week in Ashrafiah Sahnaya, a town southwest of the capital, when unknown gunmen attacked a security checkpoint. The following day, another deadly clash took place in the nearby […]

UN alert over deepening crisis in Sudan as famine spreads and violence escalates

UN alert over deepening crisis in Sudan as famine spreads and violence escalates

In a statement issued by his Spokesperson on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the deteriorating situation in North Darfur, where the regional capital, El Fasher, is under intense and sustained attack. The onslaught comes just two weeks after deadly assaults on the nearby Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps, where […]