GENEVA: The U.N. humanitarian office is warning that Syria's civil war may soon result in a big spike in the number of civilians who need urgent help.

Jens Laerke, the spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Tuesday that some 4 million people are in need of urgent assistance while over 2 million people are displaced inside Syria.

He said that if the violence continues unabated those numbers could go up.

Laerke says that despite the world body enlisting the help of more than 70 local groups in Syria and delivering more aid to opposition-controlled areas, "the catastrophic humanitarian crisis continues to deepen."

The U.N.'s World Program says this month it plans to feed 1.75 million of the 2.5 million Syrians lacking enough food.