U.N. launches record appeal to cover Syria crisis

{{The United Nations warned on Friday that half of all Syrians will need humanitarian aid by the end of 2013 and launched what it said was the largest emergency appeal in history to cope with the civil war crisis.}}

“Syria as a civilization is unraveling,” said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, announcing the call for some $5 billion before the end of the year.

The joint statement by U.N. agencies coincided with heavy fighting on numerous fronts, as rebels attacked an air base in northern Syria while forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad sought to capitalize on their own recent gains.

Clashes also continued on the Golan Heights, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, a day after rebels briefly seized the sole crossing between the two foes.

Austria, a major contributor to a U.N. monitoring mission in the Golan, announced on Thursday it was withdrawing from the area because of the violence, jeopardizing an operation that has helped keep the Israeli-Syrian war quiet for four decades.

{reuters}