Civilians increasingly bearing burden of armed conflicts in Arab region

Syrian boy brings bread back from an underground bakery in severely damaged opposition-held area of Aleppo. GENEVA, Switzerland: The war in Syria has now entered its 6th year and is becoming the world’s worst man- made disaster.

The humanitarian calamity in Syria has affected millions of lives; more than half of Syria’s pre- war population has been forced to flee, including 6.3 million internally displaced persons and 5.1 million refugees living in refugee camps in the Middle East and in Europe. It is also estimated that approximately 465,000 people have lost their lives because of this enduring conflict with no immediate end in sight.

Arab civilians are also suffering in other major armed conflicts in the Middle East. According to UNHCR and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, at least 3 million Iraqis have been displaced as a result of the civil strife in Iraq.

Iraq Body Count estimates that more than 50% of the war-related deaths – following the 2003 Iraq invasion – were civilians.

In Yemen, the United Nations estimates that more than 10,000 civilians have perished from the fighting between Yemeni gov- ernment forces and the Houthi rebels. On top of this, IOM and UNHCR estimates that around 3 million Yemeni civilians have been displaced from their homes since the beginning of the conflict.

The high civilian tolls witnessed in these conflicts reveal that civilians are increasingly bearing the burden of armed conflicts in the Arab region.

The theme of the 2017 World Humanitarian Day – Civilians 10 May 2017 report of the United Nations Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed

A has emerged – noted the Secretary General in the same report – owing to the rise of use of force of which civilians are ultimately the main victims. Since the end of World War II, it is estimated that between 60- 90% of war- related deaths are primarily among civilians. Civilians have become the primary casualties of war in the 21st century.

The irregular and black market arms trade have fuelled the rise