Syria

Briefing the Security Council today on Syria, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs expressed concern at the escalation of fighting in the country’s north-west.  She said that, on 6 May, Government forces began ground offensives there, and, as of 15 May, they seized many towns in Hama.

The first day for redeploying Ansar Allah forces from Yemen’s three ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras-Issa went according to established plans on Saturday, Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard, Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, said yesterday.  Formal verification is expected on Tuesday.

UNICEF reports that 894 children — including 106 girls — were released today from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a local militia that helps the Nigerian security forces in the fight against insurgency in the country’s north‑east.  UNICEF says more than 3,500 children were recruited between 2013 and 2017.

The World Food Programme says it reached 10.6 million people with emergency food assistance across Yemen in March – more than in any other month.  An estimated 10 million people in the country are one step away from famine, and the United Nations and partners are doing everything to help them and roll back the risk.

Relief organizations in Mozambique are working to contain a cholera outbreak in the north of the country after water sources were contaminated and health clinics damaged by Cyclone Kenneth, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a report today saying that the demand for sand has led to pollution, flooding, drought, beach erosion and reduced deposits in river deltas.  With global demands at 40-50 billion tonnes a year, UNEP warned that sand is being used faster than it can be replenished.

Around 1 million species are threatened with extinction as nature declines at unprecedented rates, a global assessment launched today by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warns, listing amphibians, corals and marine mammals as among the most threatened.

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

In Libya, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ghassan Salamé, continues his outreach to interlocutors, meeting with Government officials, a group of elders and tribal leaders to offer the United Nations full support to help thousands of civilians affected by heavy fighting in southern Tripoli.

Unfolding developments in Benin are under close watch following the 28 April legislative elections, from which opposition parties were barred.  Noting with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, the United Nations calls upon all Beninese to exercise maximum restraint and resolve differences through dialogue.