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Humanitarian relief operations are overwhelmed by the nearly one million people who have recently fled from violence in northwestern Syria, the United Nations' aid chief said Tuesday, repeating his calls for a cease-fire.

After nearly 19 years of fighting, representatives of the United States and Afghan Taliban signed a peace deal Saturday in Doha, Qatar.

General Antonio Guterres said the escalation of fighting in Syria is “one of the most alarming moments” of the conflict and called for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 3 million people in Niger, more than half of whom are children, need humanitarian assistance amidst the risks posed by insecurity, malnutrition, recurrent disease epidemics, cyclical floods, droughts and displacement. UNICEF called for increased attention to the plight of children and their families on Febuary 21.

On Febuary 26, 15 children associated with armed forces and armed groups were released in South Sudan, UNICEF said. The boys ranging from 16 to 18 years of age were taken as prisoners of war during clashes in the northern parts of the country in 2019. Marked the end of their imprisonment, their time in an armed group and the start of a new life, on Febuary 26.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad tendered his resignation to the king Monday, his office said in a statement, but did not give further details.

South Sudanese refugees take part in biometric verification at Khor Al Waral camp in Sudan.

An elderly Afghan asylum-seeker and her daughter outside Moria, on the Greek island of Lesvos.

A displaced woman cooks food at a relative’s house in Kaya, Burkina Faso.

With the dramatically worsening situation in Syria’s Idlib province, where close to a million people are in grave danger, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi supports calls for a cessation of hostilities and appeals for urgent action to allow people trapped in the conflict to move to places of safety.