Pope renews appeal for end to decade long war in Syria

Syrian refugees in Lebanon supported by CAFOD partner Caritas Syria

Source: Vatican News

Pope Francis has once again appealed for peace in Syria. Speaking during the Angelus yesterday, on the 10th anniversary of the conflict which escalated from protests against the Ba'athist government of President Bashar al-Assad into a violent armed conflict.

Pope Francis said the Syrian civil war, "has caused one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our times.. An untold number of dead and wounded, millions of refugees, thousands missing, destruction, violence of all kinds and immense suffering for the entire population, especially the most vulnerable, such as children, women and the elderly."

The Pope renewed his 'heartfelt appeal' for all parties to the conflict to "show signs of goodwill, so that a glimmer of hope may open up for the exhausted population."

He also called on the international community to provide "decisive and renewed" commitment to rebuilding the nation, so that "once the weapons have been laid down, the social fabric can be mended and reconstruction and economic recovery can begin."

The Pope said: "Let us all pray to the Lord that the great suffering in our beloved and tormented Syria may not be forgotten, and that our solidarity might revive hope." He then led the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square in the recitation of the Hail Mary.

Since the conflict erupted a decade ago, Syria has witnessed unprecedented devastation and displacement.

More than five million Syrians have fled the country and six million remain internally displaced. With more than 13 million people in desperate need of assistance, the conflict has caused untold suffering for Syrian men, women and children.

More than 13.4 million people in the country need need humanitarian aid, the United Nations has stated - but delivering that aid is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, business. On average, at least two aid workers and eight medical personnel have been killed in Syria every month for the past decade.

The situation in Syria's northwest, where millions of children remain displaced, is particularly alarming, with many families having fled violence multiple times, some as many as seven times, in search of safety. They are living in tents, shelters, and wrecked or derelict buildings.

Elsewhere, after a decade of war, nine in 10 children still inside the country are in need of help.

The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, says families have been pushed to the brink of despair. To make matters worse, the Syrian economy is also in tatters.

The price of the average food basket increased by more than 230 percent in the last year, and more than half a million children under five are suffering from stunted growth, as a result of chronic malnutrition.

To support CAFOD's Syria Crisis Appeal see: https://cafod.org.uk/Give/Donate-to-Emergencies/Syria-Crisis-Appeal