UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 (NNN-XINHUA) – While the United Nations is concerned about the safety of its staff and its humanitarian partners in northeast Syria, it continues delivering aid in the conflict zone.
“The UN staff is staying and delivering,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. “We obviously continue to be concerned about the safety, not only about our humanitarian staff, but also of our partners.”
Dujarric said, he has seen some reports that the world organisation and others had stopped delivering aid.
“Speaking for the UN, that is not the case,” he told correspondents at a regular briefing, but added, “We’re obviously not in the area where there’s fighting.”
Citing an example, he said, there were international workers and Syrian nationals in Qamishli, delivering aid to civilians in the northeast of the conflict zone.
Teams from the UN refugee agency have assisted some 31,800 people, since the escalation of fighting in northeast Syria last week, the spokesman said, adding, the agency distributed blankets and other core relief items, to some 20,250 people in three camps for the internally displaced people, and to another 11,550 people living in communal shelters in Al-Hassakeh and Tal Tamer.
The agency has also sent additional aid to Qamishli, including blankets for 52,000 people, plastic sheeting for 15,000 people and solar lamps for 20,000, he said.
The World Food Programme said that, so far it has provided immediate food assistance to more than 83,000 people, fleeing towns in the northeast. It has the capacity to reach over 450,000 people in the area, with one round of ready-to-eat food packages.
The Human Rights Office said, since the Turkish offensive began, it has verified a number of civilian casualties each day, as a result of airstrikes, ground-based strikes and sniper fire.
The International Organisation for Migration, reported the arrivals of hundreds of Syrian Kurds into Iraq, after fleeing the conflict region in Syria.– NNN-XINHUA
