Regional update - Middle East and North Africa Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme 23 September 2016 English Original: English and French Sixty-seventh session Geneva, 3-7 October 2016 Overview on UNHCR’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) A. Situational context including new developments Syria situation As the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic entered its sixth year, it continued to trigger massive levels of displacement, with 6.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and over 4.8 million refugees in the neighbouring countries (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey). Intense fighting in the northern parts of the Syrian Arab Republic led to civilian casualties and the displacement of over 390,000 people since 1 February 2016. The humanitarian situation in the city of Aleppo and its surroundings severely deteriorated, with some 275,000 people in the eastern part of the city facing movement restrictions and in need of assistance. Water, shelter, food and healthcare remain the highest priorities. Overall, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access in the country remained extremely challenging with 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including 5.47 million in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. UNHCR intensified its operations inside the country as lead agency for the shelter, non-food items and protection clusters, participating in most of the 76 inter-agency convoys that have taken place since the beginning of 2016. These convoys provided much-needed assistance to over 1.2 million people in hard-to-reach or besieged areas and other priority cross-line locations. Despite the generosity of host governments and communities, refugees in neighbouring countries continue to face difficulty in accessing services. Many refugees have exhausted their savings and are sinking further into poverty. In Lebanon, the average debt held by refugee households increased by 16.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2016 and in Jordan, 90 per cent of Syrian refugees surveyed are now living below the poverty line. Together with UNDP, UNHCR continues to lead the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), a coordinated response of over 200 partners in support of the national response plans of the five main refugee-hosting countries. Iraq situation Since January 2014, the escalating violence in Iraq has led to the internal displacement of more than 3.4 million people. Between January and September 2016, around 300,000 refugees and migrants arrived by sea to Europe. An important route ran through North Africa via the Mediterranean sea, with over 128,000 arrivals by sea to Italy, primarily departing from Libya, and to a lesser extent by land through Morocco towards the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla (around 3,000 arrivals). Sea arrivals to Greece diminished greatly since March 2016, with some 160,000 arrivals from January to June 2016, compared to 780,000 arrivals during the previous 6-month period. Syrians represent 48% of all arrivals to Greece so far in 2016, followed by Afghans and Iraqis. Despite the ongoing armed conflict and the volatile security situation in Yemen, irregular arrivals by sea continued, followed by onward movement by land. Returns continue to be hampered by widespread destruction of infrastructure and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance. Humanitarian partners estimate that over 10 million Iraqis currently require some form of humanitarian assistance. UNHCR’s emergency response, in anticipation of 1