nowlebanon.com – september 5, 2012 - "The death toll is staggering, the destruction is reaching catastrophic proportions and the suffering of the people is immense," New UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said in a speech Tuesday to the 193-member assembly in New York. "Those who provide arms to either side are only contributing to further misery – and the risk of unintended consequences as the fighting intensifies and spreads," Ban said.

According to the Observatory, more than 26,000 people have been killed in Syria since the revolt began 17 months ago -- more than two-thirds of them civilians. The figures are impossible to verify.

intercrossblog.icrc - September 04, 2012 - The situation in many parts of Syria is currently edging towards irreversible deterioration. Assisting the fast-growing number of needy people is a top priority. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced over recent weeks, and most of them, often whole families, are completely dependent on humanitarian assistance provided by local communities, the ICRC, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and others.

"People fear for their lives every minute of the day," said Marianne Gasser, the head of the ICRC delegation in Syria. "Humanitarian needs have risen sharply as civilians face ever more difficulty obtaining basic necessities, either because the items are not available in some parts of the country, or because the violence prevents people from going to get them." In Aleppo, Homs, Idlib and other parts of Syria, humanitarian needs persist as armed confrontations continue