UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza launched today with the Lebanese Government an appeal for an additional $331.5 million, bringing the overall Flash Appeal for March through August to nearly $640 million, to sustain life-saving efforts for 1.4 million people in Lebanon.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is monitoring the situation in the Pyla plateau, where peacekeepers have stepped up patrols and are maintaining a visible presence on the ground, following the observation of unauthorized entry by Turkish Cypriot security personnel into the United Nations buffer zone.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $48 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to maintain aid operations of the UN Humanitarian Air Service, run by the World Food Programme, in Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Major General Mohammad Asadullah Minhazul Alam of Bangladesh as Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
The Secretary-General has approved a request by Papua New Guinea to renew eligibility for the Peacebuilding Fund’s Peacebuilding and Recovery Facility until the end of 2030 to advance joint UN-Government efforts in the context of the Bougainville post-referendum peace process.
In Madagascar, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that another cyclone is expected to make landfall tomorrow. This comes on the heels of Tropical Cyclone Fytia, which touched down on 31 January. The Central Emergency Response Fund has released $3 million to help pre-position staff and supplies.
The Security Council today renewed the United Nations peacekeeping presence in Cyprus for another year, welcomed the intensification of dialogue in 2025 and called upon the sides and all parties to engage actively with the Secretary-General and his team.
In Syria, humanitarian officials report that, as of 14 January, about 58,000 people remain displaced, while nearly 90,000 others have returned home following clashes in Aleppo City. The UN and humanitarian partners continue to provide food, psychosocial support and other aid to displaced families and returnees.
In Cyrus, the Greek Cypriot leader, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, met for the first time as leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. The meeting took place in the UN protected area and was facilitated by the Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN and humanitarian partners are supporting the Government-led response following the declaration on 4 September of a new Ebola outbreak in Kasai Province, in the country’s centre-west. Preliminary figures from authorities indicate 28 suspected cases; that includes 15 fatalities.
