A displaced boy is seen at the al-Hol camp run by the Kurdish militias in the northeastern province of Hasakah, Syria, Nov. 16, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

The UN was expected to urge international donors to pledge up to $10 billion on Tuesday to help Syrians fleeing a decade of civil war in the midst of the ­COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the need for humanitarian support has never been so great.

In the fifth annual conference to keep Syrians refugees from starvation, the event hosted by the EU was expected to seek $4.2 billion for people inside Syria and $5.8 billion for refugees and their hosts in the Middle East.

Some 24 million people need basic aid, a rise of 4 ­million over the year 2020 and the highest number yet since 2011.

"It has been 10 years of ­despair and disaster for ­Syrians," said UN aid chief Mark ­Lowcock. 

"Now plummeting living conditions, economic decline and COVID-19 result in more hunger, malnutrition and ­disease. There is less fighting, but no peace dividend," he said in a statement.

Fighting between Syrian army forces and rebels has subsided since a deal a year ago that ended major conflicts.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was expected to address the conference on Tuesday. 

On March 10, marking a decade of conflict, he said Syria is a "living nightmare" where about half the children have never lived a day without war and 60 percent of Syrians are at risk of going hungry.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement called on international donors to help rebuild the country, particularly to repair critical health, water and electricity services.

Rebuilding destroyed ­cities will take billions of dollars more and cannot start until powers involved in the conflict, including Russia and Iran, help agree a peace settlement, the EU, which is hosting the conference, says.

International Committee of the Red Cross head Peter Maurer urged world powers to reach a peace deal or face many more annual donor conferences for Syria. 

"Humanitarians are here to help but the ultimate responsibility lies with parties to the conflict," he said.

Separately on Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have ­recovered from COVID-19 and have tested negative for the ­disease, state news agency SANA said.

"After the end of the quarantine period, symptoms of COVID-19 and negative PCR results, President Bashar al-Assad and Mrs Asma al-Assad have resumed their work normally," SANA said.