UN relief chief calls on Syrian regime to halt attacks displacing 30,000 civilians

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Tuesday 09 Feb 2016 - 10:41 Makkah mean time-30-4-1437 Civilians in Aleppo flee airstrikes (AFP/ Getty image) New York (IINA) – UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien called on the Syrian government and other parties to honor their duty to protect civilians and allow safe access for aid as tens of thousands of people were reported to have been displaced from Aleppo and elsewhere in the war-torn country's north by heavy government bombardment. “I am gravely concerned by reports that over 30,000 civilians have been displaced from Aleppo City and other areas in northern Syria over the past week by heavy clashes and aerial bombardment by the Government of Syria, allied forces and armed groups,” O'Brien said in a statement on Monday. He noted that civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed and injured, and that civilian infrastructure, including at least two hospitals, has been hit. He also voiced extreme concern for people in other parts of the country, including in Daraa governorate in the south, were intensified fighting has displaced thousands of people, killing or injuring civilians. It is reported that displacement camps in the areas close to the border with Turkey are already full and running above capacity, with people urgently requiring shelter, food and basic household items. O'Brien urged the warring parties to hold to their obligations under international human rights and international humanitarian law to protect all civilians in Syria and allow humanitarian organizations safe and unconditional access to all people in need. He also called on them to immediately halt all actions that might result in civilian loss of life and damage, to permit civilians to move to safer areas and to refrain from targeting medical and other civilian infrastructure. AB/IINA