The situation in Syria is now the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII.

Aid workers in the Middle East say the situation in Syria now represents the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII.

The conflict in Syria has been ongoing for four years — and with the situation showing no signs of improvement, experts have declared it the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.

The unrest, which began in 2011 with the so-called “Arab Spring” protests against President Bashar al-Assad‘s government, gradually developed into a fully-fledged armed rebellion after months of military sieges.

Syria has been plagued by terrorist acts initiated by radical Islamists since the war began, and jihadist group ISIS — which last year announced the establishment of a “caliphate” stretching from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq — now controls large areas of the country.

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ISIS’s reputation for brutality has been reinforced by the dissemination over social media of photos and videos showing its prisoners’ gruesome deaths — sometimes by beheading. The group’s horrific treatment of women has also been highlighted: as Mamamia previously reported, it has published ‘guildelines to rape,’ believes girls can legitimately be married off at the age of nine, and has reportedly buried young girls alive.

But despite the militant groups’ barbarism, non-governmental organisation Save the Children told Elizabeth Jackson on ABC radio that humanitarian concerns have taken over from ISIS as the greatest threat to Syrians’ wellbeing.

Middle East Regional director Roger Hearn told the ABC: “It really has been an escalation of a conflict that’s now become the greatest humanitarian crisis since the second world war.”

“I don’t want to discount ISIS as a global threat… but the thing that is killing more Syrians is not ISIS, it’s the ongoing impact of the war.”

Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in January the crises in Iraq and Syria had created a serious displacement situation.

“The Syria and Iraq mega-crises, the multiplication of new crises and the old crises that seem never to die, have created the worst displacement situation in the world since World War II,” Mr Guterres said. addressing the annual meeting of Turkey’s ambassadors abroad.

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He said there had been a lack of strong international leadership over the issue, with more than 13 million people have been displaced by the conflicts in Syria and Iraq over the preceding 12 months, AFP News Agency reports.

Amnesty International’s Head of Refugee and Migrants’ Rights Sherif Elsayed-Ali said last month.

“With close to 4 million refugees, the scale of the crisis is overwhelming,” he said. “Around 380,000 refugees have been identified as vulnerable and in need of resettlement by the UN Refugee Agency.”

Around 95% of refugees from Syria  are being hosted in five main countries within the region: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

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While the UN refugee agency has identified 380,000 refugees in those countries as in need of resettlement, so far just 79,180 resettlement places have been offered globally by wealthier countries — a mere fifth of what is needed.

“World leaders cannot go on turning their backs on vulnerable refugees,” Mr Elsayed-Ali said. “It’s easy to feel helpless when facing a crisis of this magnitude but encouraging world leaders to resettle refugees can have a life-changing impact.”

Find out more at Amnesty International’s website here.