World News in Brief: Guterres convenes Cyprus summit, violence continues in southern Lebanon, UN aid hub in Chad expands

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN Secretary-General on Wednesday announced a fresh bid to end the decades-long hostilities over the division of Cyprus through informal talks scheduled to take place over two days from 17 March.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the regular daily briefing in New York that the leaders of both the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities would join UN chief António Guterres along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom, at the UN in Geneva.

The Mediterranean island was divided between north and south in 1974 after years of hostilities. The UN has led negotiations towards a settlement, with the Security Council authorising a peacekeeping force in 1964, UNFICYP.

In the absence of a lasting agreement, the force remains on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, a buffer zone and to support humanitarian activities.

Previous talks

Mr. Guterres attempted to bring the two sides together in 2017 at the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana but talks ultimately broke down. A further push was made in 2021.

The meeting later this month will take place “in the context of the Secretary-General’s good offices’ efforts on the Cyprus issue,” in in line with his commitment to continue efforts made last October. 

“The informal meeting will provide an opportunity for a meaningful discussion on the way forward on the Cyprus issue,” Mr Dujarric said.

“The United Nations remains committed to supporting the Cypriot leaders and all Cypriots.”

Lebanon: Fighting continues in peacekeepers’ area of operations

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported more gunfire in their area of operations on Wednesday, as well as sporadic military activity by Israeli forces, the UN Spokesperson said on Wednesday.

As of now, the Lebanese army have deployed to more than 100 locations in southern Lebanon – between the Litani River and the ‘Blue Line’ of separation between the two countries – with the support of UN peacekeepers.

Unexploded ordnance

The latest conflict has left south Lebanon, especially areas close to the Blue Line, heavily littered with unexploded ordnances, “posing very serious risks to civilians”.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deminers continue to assist Lebanese authorities in finding and destroying these explosive remnants. 

“Our peacekeepers have continued to discover caches of unauthorised weapons and ammunitions, including yesterday, a number of them in our Sector West, and all of them were duly reported to the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Mr. Dujarric explained.

Between 21 October 2024 and 26 February, 44 unexploded ordnances and six improvised explosive devices were discovered and destroyed.

Humanitarian work continues

At the same time, UNIFIL continues to facilitate humanitarian missions in their areas of operation, with over 60 missions having taken place since the cessation of hostilities, facilitating the return of displaced people.

Separately, the mission reports that 31 arrests have been made in connection with the attack on 14 February on a convoy near the Beirut airport. 

Mr. Dujarric emphasised the importance that “those responsible for that attack are brought to justice”, with the attack targeting the then Deputy Force Commander of UNIFIL and a number of his companions.

IOM expands humanitarian hub in Chad to aid 220,000 amid Sudan crisis

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) have completed the expansion of a key aid hub in Chad, in a move that will enable aid teams to reach up to 220,000 more in need.

The expanded operational capacity at the hub in Farchana will strengthen cross-border interagency humanitarian operations for Sudan – the world’s worst displacement crisis. 

Since April 2023, more than 11.5 million people have been displaced within Sudan and an additional 3.5 million have fled across borders, including an estimated 930,000 who have crossed from Sudan into Chad.

Nine million in need across Darfur

According to recent figures, nearly nine million people in the Darfur region alone require immediate assistance.

“With the strengthened cross-border operations, IOM has already reached over 82,000 people in Darfur with critical humanitarian aid, and with the expansion of the Farchana hub, we are poised to provide life-saving assistance to an additional 220,000 people in the coming months,” explained Pascal Reyntjens, IOM Chief of Mission in Chad.

“The hub also enables greater collaboration between humanitarian actors, development agencies and the government, which is essential for a comprehensive and sustainable response,” he continued.

The expansion includes office space, living quarters and other infrastructure that will help improve the effectiveness of aid work in hard-to-reach field locations in Sudan.

These enhancements will also enable international and national NGOs and UN agencies to further scale up cross-border operations from Chad into Darfur, where humanitarian needs are rapidly escalating.