(VOVworld) - World leaders must put their differences aside and work to bring about meaningful change in Syria, where the country’s ongoing brutal conflict is preparing to enter its fifth year, senior United Nations officials have urged. They issued a joint statement Friday to express their grave concern over the crisis which has already claimed over 220,000 lives.

Syrian Kurdish refugees seeking shelter last fall in Turkey. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times

More than 12.2 million people continue to require life-saving aid as a result of the conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011. The conflict has also provoked massive displacement with more than 4 million people having sought refuge in neighboring countries, while a further 7.6 million are displaced within Syria.

In Friday’s statement, the UN officials highlighted that people all over the world called for an end to the bloody conflict in Syria, urging all people and nations to show their responsibilities in seeking for a solution to this conflict, restore peace and order in Syria and get Syrian people out of this tragedy for a better future.