UN brief: Lebanon forces assume control south of Litani; Syria, South Sudan and Ukraine humanitarian updates
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Summary
The UN welcomed Lebanese Armed Forces' move to assume operational control south of the Litani River, and provided updates on Syria (chemical weapons briefings, hospital damage, Aleppo displacement), South Sudan (renewed fighting displacing roughly 100,000 people), and Ukraine (attacks cutting power for nearly 2 million people).
The UN press briefing included a series of field updates. On Lebanon, the spokesperson said the Lebanese Armed Forces have assumed operational control of the area south of the Litani River; the UN welcomed the development and said the special coordinator for Lebanon remains engaged to advance implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 and the cessation of hostilities mechanism.
On Syria, Steph said the Security Council received a briefing on implementation of resolution 2118 concerning elimination of chemical weapons and that the secretary-general remains "gravely alarmed" by escalating hostilities and mounting civilian casualties in Aleppo, with tens of thousands reportedly displaced; Steph also cited OCHA reporting that several hospitals had been damaged and some ceased operations. In South Sudan, the briefing said renewed fighting since Dec. 29 had displaced roughly 100,000 people and disrupted humanitarian operations, with reports of looting and confiscation of assets. On Ukraine, UN colleagues reported recent attacks damaged energy and port infrastructure in regions including Dnipro and Odesa, leaving nearly 2 million people without electricity amid very cold temperatures and prompting scheduled daily outages of 4–8 hours.
Why it matters: each update points to continued humanitarian need and access challenges across multiple theaters. The spokesperson underlined that UN teams and partners remain focused on getting aid to people in need despite security and logistical constraints.