Jordanian national Ali al-Zaatari, the new UN envoy tasked with overseeing the struggling humanitarian effort in Syria, has formally begun work in Damascus, AFP reported Wednesday (October 12th).
Al-Zaatari arrived in Damascus at the weekend and officially began work on Tuesday as the UN's new humanitarian relief co-ordinator in Syria, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The former UN deputy envoy for Libya and for Sudan also has worked in Syria as the UN Development Programme's resident representative from 2004 to 2007.
Al-Zaatari replaces Yacoub el-Hillo of Sudan, who was the aid co-ordinator since 2013 and who was recently appointed UN deputy envoy to Liberia.
At least 13.5 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid including six million children, according to UN estimates.
The UN aid effort has been struggling to reach 5.5 million people living in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 600,000 Syrians living under siege.
