BEIRUT: UN-linked aid groups have suspended activities in parts of violence-plagued northwest Syria, where stepped up bombardment by the regime and Russia is jeopardizing the safety of humanitarian workers.
“As of 8 May, at least 16 humanitarian partners have suspended their operations in areas impacted by conflict,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA said Friday.
The World Food Programme said it has suspended “deliveries to about 47,000 people in towns and villages... (that) have come under bombardment.”
Since late April, government forces have mounted a major bombardment of southern Idlib and neighboring areas with Russian support.
The uptick in air strikes and shelling on the region dominated by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate has displaced 180,000 people between 29 April and 9 May, OCHA said.
It has also affected 15 health facilities and 16 schools, it added.
“Some organizations suspended activities as their premises were damaged, destroyed or rendered unsafe by the violence,” OCHA said.
“Others have suspended activities in order to keep their staff and beneficiaries safe, or because the beneficiary population has left,” it added.
OCHA said five humanitarian workers, including two health professionals, have been reportedly killed due to air strikes and shelling.
WFP also said that some of its partners inside Idlib have been “displaced due to the violence, while a few others have sustained injuries.”
The northwestern part of Syria controlled by jihadists is made up of a large part of Idlib province, as well as adjacent parts of the Aleppo and Hama provinces.
It has been protected from a massive regime offensive by a September deal inked by Damascus ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey.
The region of some three million people has come under increasing bombardment since Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which is dominated by jihadists from Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian branch, took full control of it in the beginning of the year.
Western powers are concerned that the Russia-backed Syrian government will launch a full-scale assault.
On Friday, air strikes and shelling killed 10 civilians, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The civil war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Aid groups suspend aid to Syria’s embattled northwest
Aid groups suspend aid to Syria’s embattled northwest
- he World Food Programme said it has suspended deliveries to about 47,000 people
- OCHA said five humanitarian workers, including two health professionals, have been reportedly killed
Morocco pushes to reform social security system amid inflation and economic pressure, PM says
- Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Aziz Akhannouch said his government had expanded healthcare to more than 80 percent of its population
DUBAI: Morocco’s prime minister said on Tuesday that the country was pursuing radical social and economic reforms in the wake of inflationary and economic pressures.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Aziz Akhannouch said his government had expanded healthcare to more than 80 percent of its population, up from just 42 percent when he took office three years ago.
He said this also coincided with consistently strong economic growth and headline inflation reducing to below 1 percent.
“In a world that doubts itself, Morocco has decided to protect its population, reform and look forward,” he told attendees in Davos.
In late 2025, Morocco was rocked by its largest demonstrations in over a decade as youth‑led groups mobilized nationwide against deteriorating public services, deepening social inequality, and chronic unemployment.
Akhannouch said the country was aware of the difficulties facing Moroccans and was determined to ensure the country would remain on a positive trajectory.
Part of this included the provision of financial aid to more than 12 million citizens, and the formation of trusts for orphans to be paid out when they turn 18.
“Health means dignity, if you want to have a decent life you have to have good health,” he said.
Nevertheless, Akhannouch noted that the government had not forgone its budgetary principles — and had in fact balanced the country’s debt payments and achieved successful fiscal reforms. He noted S&P’s decision in 2025 to raise Morocco’s sovereign rating to BBB‑/A‑3 and restore its investment‑grade status.
Speaking on the World Cup, set to be co-hosted with neighbors Spain and Portugal in 2030, he said the project was seen as a nation-building exercise that would help spur Morocco to develop its underlying infrastructure and provide employment opportunities for young Moroccans.
“It will be a growth accelerator,” he said.
“When we build new rail networks and upgrade cities it will have a long-term impact on people.”
