(Peace and Security-Syria) At least five civilians have been killed and some 30,000 people displaced following renewed fighting in Aleppo, Syria, prompting calls from the UN for immediate de-escalation and a return to political talks. Clashes resumed on Tuesday between General Security Forces of the transition Government and the mainly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), following a brief pause after the ceasefire announced in late December 2025. Initial fighting near the Alleramoon roundabout – on the historic city’s western outskirts – spread to the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Ash-Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, with shelling also affecting surrounding government-controlled areas. Significant damage has been reported to homes and public infrastructure, including healthcare. At least three major hospitals have ceased operations, while flights in and out of Aleppo International Airport have also been suspended since Tuesday. – Syria: Aleppo fighting leaves civilians dead, displaces thousands | UN News
(SDGs-Iraq) Some two decades after a shaky political transition, Iraq today is a country “at peace, with increased security and a clear determination to win the battle of development,” says the UN resident coordinator for Iraq on Wednesday. Briefing journalists in New York, Ghulam Isaczai spoke about the transition from the long-running UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which ended its mandate in December, to a partnership with national authorities anchored to development. “For those who lived through the troubled early years of the transition, today Iraq is unrecognisable and remarkable,” he said. – Iraq ‘unrecognisable and remarkable’ after years of conflict: UN coordinator | UN News
(Human Rights-West Bank) A sweeping UN human rights report released on Wednesday concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity. The report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, documents what it describes as a decades-long system of discrimination that has sharply intensified since at least December 2022. – West Bank: UN report warns of ‘systematic asphyxiation’ of Palestinian rights | UN News
(Humanitarian Aid-Ukraine) Almost four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aid teams continue to adapt to the lethal reality of working in a modern war zone. For frontline workers like Oleg Kemin from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), this involves travelling deep into disputed territory along the 1,000-kilometre contact line separating Ukraine from Russia, where attack drones are a deadly menace. In an exclusive interview with UN News, Oleg describes his work as a security officer and the challenges he faces, trying to deliver food aid to vulnerable communities.There’s little respite even away from the front, he notes, with cities including the capital Kyiv shelled repeatedly and pitched into darkness – as was the case just before we spoke to him. – Drones, fear and exhaustion: The daily reality of providing aid to Ukraine | UN News
