In northwest Syria, an estimated 183,500 people have been displaced by hostilities in Afrin district in Aleppo governorate in recent weeks. The majority, some 140,000 people, have fled to Tal Refaat. This massive influx of internally displaced persons is putting a strain on host communities, which are already overwhelmed.

In Idlib governorate, the situation remains catastrophic, with almost 400,000 people displaced since mid-December. Local capacity to assist is overstretched. Thousands of additional people are now coming there from Eastern Ghouta, with no sites or shelters available for the vast majority of them, said Lowcock.

There are reports of an increase in violence in Idlib in recent days, he said. On March 20, airstrikes hit a shelter for internally displaced persons in the outskirts of Haas village in southern rural Idlib governorate, killing at least 10 people and injuring 15 others, he quoted local sources as saying. On the following day, airstrikes on Kafr Battikh village in the same area reportedly killed scores more. The next day, the central market in Harim town was hit by an airstrike, reportedly killing 35 people, including many women and children.

Airstrikes also resumed in southern Syria on March 12, with attacks being reported in and around Daraa City on the border with Jordan. There have not been airstrikes in these areas since an agreement was reached last year on the creation of a de-escalation zone for parts of the south of the country. This therefore appears to be a major unwelcomed development, said Lowcock.

The Syrian civil war has entered its eighth year.