Iraq News

UN concerned for safety of civilians fleeing Ghouta

The UN said Tuesday (March 20th) it was "deeply concerned" over the safety of tens of thousands of civilians fleeing Syria's Eastern Ghouta as well as the security screening procedures for those trying to leave, AFP reported.

As Syrian regime forces have advanced on the opposition enclave outside Damascus, some 50,000 civilians have streamed into areas under regime control.

"The exodus is fairly chaotic... There is ongoing bombardment. It is a war zone," UN humanitarian agency spokesman Jens Laerke said. "We are deeply, deeply concerned for their safety.”

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also urgently called Tuesday for the protection of those who have fled and for the civilians still trapped by fighting who are in "dire need of aid".

"The shortage of appropriate shelter is a major concern," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said.

The agency has been distributing aid at makeshift shelters where thousands of families were arriving, "exhausted, hungry, thirsty and sick", he said.

He stressed the need for humanitarian actors to be given unhindered access to civilians inside and outside Eastern Ghouta.

He also said the UNHCR was "aware of, but has no access to security screening reportedly taking place as civilians leave Eastern Ghouta".

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