“The death toll is staggering, the destruction is reaching catastrophic proportions and the suffering of the people is immense,” he said in a speech Tuesday to the 193-member assembly in New York.

Lakhdar Brahimi, who took up the role on Saturday and described his bid to broker peace a few days ago as “nearly impossible,” called for a unified approach by the international community to end the crisis in Syria.

“I am looking forward to my visit to Damascus in a few days time, and … to all the countries who are in a position to help the Syrian-led political process become a reality,” he added.

Mr. Brahimi is taking over the peace-facilitation role which has been carried out since February by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan who stepped down at the end of August. The former UN secretary general complained about the lack of international support shown for his six-month campaign to end the violence in Syria.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon in his address to the assembly condemned countries sending arms to Syria of contributing to further misery.

In general, United Nations and Western officials have accused Iran of sending weapons to Syria’s forces, while Damascus has accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of arming rebels.

Meanwhile, Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in a 45 minute meeting with Assad on Tuesday, expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country, ICRC spokesman Hisham Hassan said.

State television SANA said Assad assured Maurer that he supported the work of the Red Cross in Syria “as long as it remains impartial and independent.”

Maurer’s visit comes amid surging violence in the country where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims more than 5,000 people were killed in August only.

Over 100,000 people fled the war-torn country in August to seek refuge in neighbouring states, the UN refugee agency said, the highest monthly figure since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011.

Civilians are seeking refuge with relatives and friends inside and outside Syria, in neighbouring countries like Lebanon. Their numbers are growing by the thousands every day. Many people have no one to turn to and are taking shelter in public buildings – in empty schools, often used by displaced people in various parts of Syria, and these days in Damascus as well.

Thousands of Syrians crossed into Lebanon on Thursday. Reports vary between 8,500 and 30,000 people having crossed in the past 48 hours, according to UNHCR.

“Because of the ongoing violence, various neighbourhoods in Damascus have been cut off from one another, and this is making it progressively more difficult for people to move,” said Marianne Gasser, head of the ICRC’s delegation in Syria. “Every day presents new challenges for people trapped in the midst of the fighting: they are finding it harder and harder to go out and buy daily necessities or even to leave their homes.”

Nearly 60 schools have now been opened in Rural Damascus to accommodate displaced families, most of whom are from the violence-affected areas of the city. According to internal estimates, over 11,800 people have sought shelter in these schools.

In Damascus itself, the ICRC is providing support for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in preparing mobile health units, which will start serving several of the schools sheltering displaced people. Depending on the needs, more medical supplies will be provided. ICRC water engineers are monitoring the capacity of these schools to provide clean and drinkable water, with a view to maintaining acceptable levels of hygiene and sanitation.

Moreover, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent has started supplying 25 schools with relief items for those seeking shelter. The ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, in close cooperation with local communities, have started preparing thousands of food parcels, mattresses and hygiene kits: these will be dispatched over the coming days to those who have been displaced.

“The ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent’s humanitarian activities are urgently needed, and will continue, despite the precarious conditions,” ICRC said.

In addition, increasing food demand in several parts of the world continued to fuel unrest and conflict, as did the consequences of drought and floods. The worldwide economic crisis further compounded the woes felt by many.

“The speed and scale of the events of 2011, and the massive humanitarian needs that arose, set major challenges for an effective and timely response,” Jakob Kellenberger, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President, said as he unveiled the organisation’s Annual Report at a press conference in Geneva.

Attacks against medical personnel and facilities continued in many places, often resulting in a lack of safe access to health care, and proved to be an extremely serious, yet largely overlooked, humanitarian issue. ”The ICRC’s efforts to provide medical and health care for the wounded and the sick – benefiting some 6.8 million people around the world, including in Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and Libya – were stepped up in 2011,” said Mr Kellenberger.

“Our wide-ranging activities in conflict areas and close proximity to people who need help enabled the ICRC to respond effectively to several unfolding crises, including a number of unforeseen conflicts, throughout 2011,” said the ICRC president. “In Syria, even now, together with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, we are still the only international organization working on the ground in connection with the fighting,” he added. In many contexts, the organization stepped in to provide vital aid. Just as importantly, however, it gave people the tools to fend for themselves, without outside help.

The ICRC’s expenditures in 2011 amounted to more than 1 billion Swiss francs (approximately 1.2 billion US dollars, or 861 million euros). The ICRC’s operations in, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the occupied territories and Yemen – all protracted situations of violence – were among its largest in 2011, along with those in Libya.

“It was imperative that we mount a flexible, rapid and relevant response in a range of complex situations over the year. When the crisis erupted in Libya, we had staff on the spot within days,” said Mr Kellenberger. “In order to alleviate the suffering of men, women and children caught up in the fighting, it was essential to gain unhindered access to them and to engage with them,” he added. In a number of places, partnerships with national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies helped to broaden the activities the ICRC was able to undertake.

“Throughout 2011, the value of our impartial, neutral and independent approach was put to the test. However, I remain convinced that the principled approach we have adopted and the relevance of our humanitarian activities are still indispensable elements in ensuring access to people most in need” said Mr Kellenberger.

Foreign minister of Russia Segei Lavrov has confirmed  in an interview with the Russian radio station Echo Moskvy for the first time that the cargo ship MV Alaed, which is now headed back to Russia, was carrying repaired Russian attack helicopters and said it would continue to carry out arms contracts with Assad’s government despite widespread condemnation.

The ship is scheduled to arrive Saturday in the Russian port of Murmansk, which is near its northern border with Finland, where it will drop its Curacao flag and re-register as a Russian ship.

Meanwhile, Aid workers hoping to evacuate trapped civilians and wounded were unable to enter hard-hit areas of the Syrian city of Homs on Thursday due to an “unclear” security situation and have returned to Damascus, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, according to Reuters. 

“After having attempted to go into the old city of Homs this morning, the team decided to turn back to Homs city due to shooting…Later on the team concluded that the security situation was too unclear for us to go in,” ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told Reuters in Geneva.

Homs is the center of the 15-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad with forces increasing efforts to crush the uprising.

 

The United Nations says more than 10,000 people have been killed by Assad’s forces during the conflict while opposition groups say more than 15000 have been killed.