At least 24 were killed and more than 45 wounded on Monday when bombs were dropped on civilians attending a religious festival in Chaung-U township, Sagaing Region, according to news reports. Witnesses said a “motorized paraglider” was used to drop two explosives on the crowd gathered to mark a national...
Geir Pedersen told ambassadors that in Sweida governate, where sectarian violence in July also spurred conflict in the capital Damascus, the 19 July ceasefire has come under strain, but the conflict has not resumed so far. However, “we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida, and violence could...
“The risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva. “This is a direct result of the Israeli government’s policy of blocking humanitarian aid,” he said. Mr. Al-Kheetan insisted that in the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid...
Two top UN officials warned that the Israeli cabinet’s green light this week for a fresh offensive aimed at gaining total military control of Gaza City – home to around one million Palestinians – would only risk igniting “another horrific chapter” of displacement, death and destruction. Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General...
The announcement following an Israeli cabinet meeting “marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages,” it said. The statement noted that Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure a humanitarian catastrophe of horrific proportions. More displacement, death and destruction The UN chief warned...
“A complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” insisted Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan which portends a full-scale Israeli military takeover in the battered enclave. The development runs contrary to international law, Mr. Türk...
The 28 March quakes killed over 3,800 people and damaged or destroyed more than 55,000 homes across multiple regions, including Bago, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Southern Shan, Naypyitaw and Sagaing. Families already displaced by years of conflict now face early torrential rains, extreme heat and rising risk of disease. Nearly 20...
“At a moment when the sole focus should be on ensuring humanitarian aid gets to disaster zones, the military is instead launching attacks,” spokesperson Ravini Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva. Since the 28 March disaster, military forces have reportedly carried out over 120 attacks, she said, and more than half...
“Syria’s opportunity to stabilise after 14 years of conflict must be supported and protected, for Syrians and for Israelis,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. “This is the only way regional peace and security can be realized.” Transition under threat Mr. Khiari and the head of...
“Such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time,” Geir Pedersen said on Thursday in a statement. He called on Israel to cease these attacks which could amount to serious violations of international law, to respect...
Since the start of the offensive on 21 January, Israeli forces have killed at least 44 Palestinians, including five children and two women, in Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas governorates, and four refugee camps in those areas, according to OHCHR. Many of those killed were unarmed and posed no imminent threat,...
Ramtane Lamamra, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy For Sudan recently travelled to Sudan, where he met senior figures of the Government, including General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan and the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces. The Envoy also went to Ethiopia, where he talked...