The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
More than 10,000 people from Syria have sought refuge in neighbouring Iraq in the 10 days since fighting began in north-eastern Syria near the border with Turkey, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
The situation in north-eastern Syria remains tense and unpredictable, with ongoing violence has leading to “some 180,000 people having been displaced across the country’s north-east,” according to the latest UN estimates.
Most of the Syrian refugees come from cities and villages from northeast Syria and have witnessed explosions and shelling. “Three out of four are women and children and there are unaccompanied children among these arrivals,” Andrej Mahecic, a spokesperson for the UNHCR told journalists today in Geneva.
In a further update Mahecic added that that only had the latest refugee influx to Iraq passed the 10,000 mark, but that they had just received another “1,114 people this morning, bringing the total to more than 11,000 refugees.” Most of the people fleeing Syria into Iraq are sheltered at the Bardarash refugee camp, some 140 kilometers east of the Iraqi-Syrian border, he said.
UNHCR and partners, together with local authorities, are providing a range of services that start from the border. These include reception, provision of hot meals, transportation to the camp, registration, shelter and protection services, and even providing psycho-social support.
As humanitarian needs mount along with the burgeoning numbers of refugees, Mahecic stressed “the importance of freedom of movement for fleeing civilians and that the borders remain open, so that refugees can seek safety and protection”.
- Exterior shot, Palais des Nations
- Wide shot, Room III
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Andrej Mahecic, UNHCR: “In Syria, some 180,000 people have been displaced across the country’s north-east according to the latest UN estimates. The majority of the displaced are women and children.”
- Medium shot of podium, zoom out
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Andrej Mahecic, UNHCR: “1,114 people have been received this morning, so that brings the in-country total to more than 11,000 refugees.”
- Medium shot: journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Andrej Mahecic, UNHCR: “We and our partners continue to provide life-saving assistance to them around the clock. We stress the importance of freedom of movement for fleeing civilians and that the borders remain open so that refugees can seek safety and protection. UNHCR and other humanitarian partners are working with authorities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and are committed to supporting their response to the latest refugee influx.”
- Medium shot: journalists
- Close-up: journalist
- Medium shot: journalists
- Close-up: spokesperson
- Medium shot: journalists
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN warns against repeating abuses in South Kordofan that occurred in El Fasher.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Mozambique floods heighten disease, malnutrition risks – UN agencies
Catastrophic flooding in Mozambique is causing massive disruption to lives and livelihoods across the country, increasing the risk of disease and exposing urban areas to crocodiles, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Yemen: Children are dying and it’s going to get worse, aid veteran warns
In Yemen, renewed political instability threatens and economic woes linked to the war to complicate the already difficult task of helping vulnerable people suffering from deepening hunger, illness and displacement, the UN's top aid official there said on Monday.