Ban Says Syrians Feeling 'Abandoned by the World'

Syrians increasingly feel forsaken by the rest of the world, after four years of war that has killed nearly a quarter-million people, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.

In a report on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Syria, Ban said the devastation from the fighting has left around 7.6 million people internally displaced.

Another 3.9 million people have had to seek refuge in neighboring countries and in North Africa.

"Every day brings more death, displacement and destruction," the U.N. report said.

Some 12.2 million Syrians have had to seek humanitarian aid within the borders of the country, the U.N. leader said in the report.

As the conflict enters its fifth year, almost half of all Syrians have been forced to flee their homes.

Meanwhile, Ban said it has been increasingly difficult to deliver aid to those who need it "due to violence and insecurity, shifting conflict lines, deliberate interference by parties to the conflict."

Among the factors he blamed for the increased difficulty in distributing aid is the "closure of operations by ISIL." 

The report also faulted "administrative procedures which constrain effective aid delivery."

Meanwhile, although humanitarian workers have never been in greater demand, "their task remains challenging and dangerous," the report said.

Nevertheless, "significantly more relief items were dispatched" in the three months of December, January and February than in the previous three months, according to the document, which is to be discussed on Thursday by the U.N. Security Council.