A/HRC/23/58 3. Other forces 31. The “People’s Protection Committees” of the Democratic Union Party, officially affiliated to the Kurdish Supreme Council, have reinforced their authority over several Kurdish towns. Trying to avoid the fighting, they have sporadically clashed with both government forces and anti-government armed groups over control of Kurdish localities in the north and north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic. Clashes are becoming more frequent with anti-government armed groups despite local military agreements and occasional coordinated joint operations, such as in Sheikh Maqsood (Aleppo). C. Socioeconomic and humanitarian context 32. According to estimates of United Nations humanitarian agencies, 6.8 million people, trapped in conflict-affected and opposition-held areas, and refugees in neighbouring countries are in need of urgent assistance. Half of these are children. 33. Shortages of food, medicine, fuel and electricity, especially acute in besieged cities, have had a grave impact on the fundamental economic and social rights of the Syrian people. Precarious water and sanitation conditions lead to a rising risk of summer epidemics. The destruction of hospitals in the country’s main cities severely undermined the provision of health services, particularly for individuals suffering from chronic diseases. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, one fifth of the country’s schools are being used for military purposes or have been converted into shelters, affecting education for hundreds of thousands of children. 34. Despite the rapidly growing humanitarian needs, access to people in conflictaffected areas remains severely hindered. Humanitarian workers face bureaucratic and operational obstacles. Besides security risks, the proliferation of checkpoints controlled by the Government and the armed opposition restricts cross-line humanitarian operations. Health-care providers continue to be targeted by government forces and members of some anti-government armed groups. 35. The number of internally displaced Syrians is now 4.25 million. The spread of the conflict to cities once viewed as safe has forced many Syrians into recurrent displacement. Internally displaced persons have been targeted in Homs governorate. To date, 1.6 million Syrians have become refugees.5 Women in refugee camps face gender-based violence, including rape, forced marriage and sexual exploitation. 36. The situation of Palestinian refugees in the Syrian Arab Republic has deteriorated in recent months. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East estimates that 235,000 Palestine refugees are displaced. Some 53,000 fled to Lebanon, 6,000 to Jordan, and 1,000 to Gaza. 37. At the international donors’ conference held in Kuwait on 30 January 2013, donors pledged $1.5 billion in aid. To date, only $700 million have been secured. 5 8 According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 1,528,924 refugees: 476,838 in Lebanon, 474,405 in Jordan, 350,736 in Turkey, 148,028 in Iraq, 68,865 in Egypt and 10,052 in other North African countries.