Live

In Pictures

Gallery

Snow and cold weather grip war-torn Syria

Millions of Syrians are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, aid workers say.

Boys walk past damaged buildings covered with snow in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Boys walk past damaged buildings covered with snow in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
11 Jan 2016

Parts of Syria have been hit by snowfall and severe winter cold, exacerbating the difficulties for thousands of people already desperately seeking shelter from the country’s ongoing civil war. In neighbouring countries, where hundreds of thousands of Syrians have sought refuge, harsher weather is also setting in.

“Many of the refugees in… countries such as Jordan and Lebanon live in terrible conditions and are struggling to find warmth as temperatures fall,” said Robert Mardini, director for the Near and Middle East with the International Committee of the Red Cross. “They live with the uncertainty of not knowing what tomorrow will bring, or even if they will ever make it back home one day.” 

More than 12 million Syrians, nearly half of them children, are now in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, according to the ICRC.

A boy waits for customers as he sells bread in the cold weather. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
A boy waits for customers as he sells bread in the cold weather. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Advertisement
A boy walks outside tents housing internally displaced people in Jerjnaz camp in Idlib province. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
A boy walks outside tents housing internally displaced people in Jerjnaz camp in Idlib province. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Boys warm themselves around a heater inside a shop in Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Boys warm themselves around a heater inside a shop in Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Boys drink traditional sahlab drinks as they walk along a street in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Boys drink traditional sahlab drinks as they walk along a street in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Children look out from a tent in Jerjnaz camp for internally displaced people. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Children look out from a tent in Jerjnaz camp for internally displaced people. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Internally displaced people carry buckets of water in Jerjnaz camp. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Internally displaced people carry buckets of water in Jerjnaz camp. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Advertisement
A girl carries her brother as she stands at the entrance of her tent in the camp. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
A girl carries her brother as she stands at the entrance of her tent in the camp. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
A woman holds her daughter as she walks outside a row of tents in the camp. [Khalil Ashaw/Reuters]
A woman holds her daughter as she walks outside a row of tents in the camp. [Khalil Ashaw/Reuters]
A girl walks outside tents housing internally displaced people in Maar Zita in Idlib province. [Ammar Abdullah/Reuters]
A girl walks outside tents housing internally displaced people in Maar Zita in Idlib province. [Ammar Abdullah/Reuters]
Internally displaced people fill buckets with water sourced from an underground well in Jerjnaz camp. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Internally displaced people fill buckets with water sourced from an underground well in Jerjnaz camp. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Men walk in front of the ancient castle of Maaret al-Numan as snow covers the area in Idlib province. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
Men walk in front of the ancient castle of Maaret al-Numan as snow covers the area in Idlib province. [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
More from Gallery

Photos: Bangladesh’s free kitchens running out of food for poor

A volunteer from Mehmankhana, a non-profit group, prepares food for pandemic-affected people [Munir Uz zaman / AFP]

In Pictures: Dozens hurt in Beirut clashes on blast anniversary

A protester stands with a Lebanese national flag during clashes with army and security forces near the Lebanese parliament headquarters in the centre of the capital, Beirut. [Patrick Baz/AFP]

In Pictures: Ghana’s #FixTheCountry protesters take to streets

Several thousand protesters marched in Accra in the latest rally against President Akufo-Addo's government. [Nipah Dennis/AFP]

In Pictures: Thick smoke over Athens as suburbs battle wildfires

A statue of goddess Athena is seen as wildfire burns at Varympompi, a northeastern suburb of Athens. [Giorgos Moutafis/Reuters]
Most Read

Afghans chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ in defiant protests against Taliban

Afghan security forces patrol after they took back control of parts of Herat city following intense battle with Taliban fighters [Jalil Rezayee/EPA]

Messi to leave Barcelona due to ‘financial, structural obstacles’

Messi, who joined Barca's youth set up aged 13, is the club's all-time top scorer [File: Albert Gea/Reuters]

What did India scrapping of Kashmir’s special status achieve?

A Kashmiri man with his head covered with barbed wire attends a protest following the scrapping of Kashmir's special status [File: Danish Ismail/Reuters]

Bill Gates says meetings with Epstein were a ‘huge mistake’

The late hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein was a convicted sex offender when billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates started meeting with him [File: Bloomberg]