Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The United Nations has expressed deep concern about the continued attacks on civilian infrastructure and the safety of civilians in northeastern Syria, with the deteriorating security situation there. According to what was stated in the United Nations daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning.
United Nations spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, reported in the daily press conference that there were civilian casualties during multiple air strikes that took place last week in Al-Hasakah.
These raids caused severe damage to many civilian facilities - including power plants and oil production fields, which could negatively affect the availability of gas, fuel and electricity, according to Mr. Dujarric.
In northwestern Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that displaced populations were at risk due to floods. More than 1,500 family tents have been damaged by floods over the past two weeks - including shelters provided to survivors of last year's devastating earthquakes.
Humanitarian partners reported that tents in Afrin and Salqin were affected by the continuing rainfall, and stressed the urgent need for more shelters, food, ground insulation, heating materials, and road repair.
Dujarric said that muddy conditions are hampering children's access to schools and families' ability to access vital services inside displacement camps, noting that the United Nations and its partners on the ground are conducting assessments and providing basic relief materials - including tents, repair equipment and plastic sheets for insulation. Psychosocial support is also being mobilized for affected families.
Dujarric alerted to the significant shortage of funds allocated for the humanitarian response, noting that the United Nations has received only a third of the total $160 million required for the humanitarian response last year and this year, with the aim of helping to provide winter aid to more than two million people in Syria.