The UN's Migration Agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) issued a statement on December 10 to urgently appeal for 30 million US dollars to assist almost 700,000 people in northwest Syria through the winter months, following dramatic events that saw the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's government in Syria.

The organization said that 14 years of brutal conflict in Syria have left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of Syrians displaced inside the country, or seeking refuge across the world.

Rapid developments over the past week have exacerbated humanitarian needs, while bringing a renewed sense of hope, it noted.

IOM said in the note that it stands with the Syrian people and will continue to deliver critical aid to displaced communities in Northwest Syria, through the cross-border operation from Turkey.

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Support Syrian people at this time of renewed hope, says Amy Pope

"This is a day when Syrians everywhere are finally daring to hope -- to be able to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and to look forward to a brighter future for themselves and their families," said IOM's Director General Amy Pope.

"But more than a decade of war has devastated the country, leaving its people impoverished and scarred, and its infrastructure in ruins. Most Syrians inside the country are dependent on humanitarian aid and needs are increasing with the harsh winter weather. We urgently need to boost our humanitarian response and ensure that the Syrian people are supported at this time of renewed hope and opportunity."

IOM said the funds it is seeking through this flash appeal will be used over the next four months to ensure immediate and continued assistance to the most at-risk and vulnerable groups among those already displaced in northwest Syria, as well as ensuring support to newly displaced groups.

The organization underlined that this will complement IOM's broader 2024 Syrian Arab Republic Crisis Response Plan -- which is only 14 per cent funded, the lowest funding since the beginning of the conflict.

This is the first phase of IOM's appeal as it continues to review the evolving situation, including potential shifts in access, which may have an impact on the scope and scale of humanitarian response, explained the statement.

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'4.2 million in need of humanitarian protection'

Figures are constantly being updated, and movement trends are being assessed, but up to one million people are thought to have been displaced by the most recent fighting, IOM said.

The organization went on to say that, prior to this week, 3.5 million people were already displaced in northern Syria, with 4.2 million estimated to be in need of humanitarian protection and assistance, and 16.7 million in need across the whole country.

Protection needs have increased, with heightened vulnerability of the pre-existing displaced communities and new arrivals, the organization noted.

IOM's flash appeal will support them with essential winter relief supplies, emergency water, sanitation and health services, camp management and camp coordination, emergency shelter and transitional housing solutions, and protection services, the statement added.

IOM's cross-border operations from Turkey into northwest Syria started in July 2014 in collaboration with local and national partners. The organization said it works to bring together humanitarian, development and peace interventions, aimed at achieving durable solutions for displaced populations, reducing risks and increasing resilience, and promoting peace and stability.