GENEVA (REUTERS) - United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien will go to Syria this weekend to meet senior government officials to discuss how to boost aid to 13.5 million people in need of assistance following intensified fighting and military operations, a statement said on Friday (Dec 11).

O'Brien, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, will go to Damascus and also make field visits depending on the security situation during his Dec 12-14 visit, spokesman Jens Laerke said.

He last went to Syria in August after taking up his post.

"He is going to see for himself the situation on the ground, what the aid agencies are doing and try to refocus the world's attention on the plight of 13.5 million people inside Syria who are in desperate need of aid and protection," Laerke told a Geneva news briefing.