This post originally appeared at The Refugee.

When the Kenyan government announced in December last year that all Somali refugees living in cities must move to the Dadaab refugee camp, I made plans to visit that camp. I wanted to see the place that was already home to hundreds of thousands of Somalis, and where the government planned to pack in thousands more.

Starting today, my colleague Marc Hanson and I will be in the Middle East to continue our field research on the situation of Syrian refugees. 

RI first looked at this crisis a year ago in Lebanon, when the number of refugees there was relatively small and assistance was distributed largely through local authorities and host families. No one expected the crisis to take on the proportions that it has since, nor last so long.

The South Sudanese army (SPLA) is preparing this week to launch a major military offensive in Jonglei State against rebel leader David Yau Yau. The new operation comes after multiple failed attempts to convince Yau Yau to cease hostilities in the region.

This month, the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) will hold their second round of negotiations so far this year. The long-running Kachin conflict has resulted in more than 100,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), and a permanent cease-fire between the parties is desperately needed. Without it, tens of thousands of civilians will remain cut off from life-saving assistance.