The United Nations has issued a new appeal for $1.5 billion to aid those displaced by the fighting in Syria. The United Nations says critical assistance is needed for those inside Syria, as well as the refugees who have fled to Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt. At a news conference in Geneva, two U.N. aid officials said Syria’s turmoil continues to grow worse.

Radhouane Nouicer, U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria: “The violence in Syria is raging across the country, and there are nearly no more safe areas where people can flee and find safety, as most parts of the country have now become engulfed in violence, including in Damascus.”

Maria Calivis, regional director, Middle East and North Africa region, UNICEF: “The combination of prolonged violence, the scale and scope of destruction, the winter that is already here, has just intensified the urgency to scale up response.”

The United Nations says its latest appeal for Syria marks its “largest short-term humanitarian appeal ever.” Increasing its projections in Syria for at least the fourth time, the United Nations now warns the number of Syrian refugees will likely double to more than one million in the next six months.