The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Kairat Umarov (Kazakhstan):

The United Nations is deeply concerned for the safety and protection of tens of thousands of people in north-eastern Syria displaced since 1 December due to increased fighting.  Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock will conduct his first mission to Syria this week to assess and discuss ways to improve the aid response.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General today announced the appointment of Dmitry Titov of the Russian Federation to lead a special investigation into recent attacks on peacekeepers and peacekeeping bases in the Beni territory of North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.  This special investigation will include a focus on the 7 December attack in Semuliki, in which 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed, 43 wounded and 1 remains missing.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Kairat Umarov (Kazakhstan):

Recent protests sweeping Iran had resulted in more than 20 deaths, a top United Nations political official told the Security Council today, as the body met for an emergency session on the matter despite objections from some representatives who argued that the Council was not the proper forum for such a debate.

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock today approved the largest-ever allocation by the Central Emergency Response Fund — $50 million — to rapidly bolster aid for Yemen.  The humanitarian situation there has deteriorated despite recent progress in opening key Red Sea ports to food and fuel shipments.

The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic has strongly condemned violence by armed group members on 31 December against Muslim neighbourhoods that has led to deaths and population displacement in the north-west city of Paoua. The Mission has sent reinforcements and multiplied patrols to better prevent attacks.

The International Organization for Migration has chartered its first flight of 2018 under the Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme, helping 142 returnees departing from Libya to Gambia.  The organization has escorted almost 20,000 migrants home from Libya since the beginning of 2017.