UN Officials Slam Missile Attack On Refugee Camp In Syria By Pro-government Forces

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2019 ) :Senior UN officials on Thursday 'strongly' condemned an attack that targeted vulnerable civilians, including elderly people, women and children on a camp for displaced people in Qah village in northwestern Syria.

At least 12 people were killed and hundreds injured in a missile attack on a crowded residential area in a camp for displaced people in Qah village of northwestern Idlib province, also injuring four humanitarian workers. The camp buildings and a nearby maternity hospital were damaged during the attack.

Ground-to-ground missiles fired from the countryside of Aleppo struck the camp at Qah, setting tents ablaze according to the White Helmets, a rescue group known officially as the Syrian civil defense.

Syria's northwest corner, including the Idlib region, is the last major chunk of territory still in rebel hands after more than eight years of war.

"Reports of shelling near the Qah IDP camp near the Turkish border in Idlib last night caused damage to a nearby maternity hospital", Fran Equiza, UNICEF Representative for Syria, told journalists in Geneva. "Children were also among the reported casualties; nearby IDP camps were also destroyed." Echoing those comments, Mark Cutts, UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, called for an investigation into the "horrific" incident.

"I find it sickening that missiles hit vulnerable civilians, including elderly people, women and children sheltering in tents and makeshift shelters in a camp for internally displaced people," he said.

"This horrific incident needs to be fully investigated. These camps are places where people who have already fled violence seek safety and shelter," Cutts added.

International humanitarian law requires all parties to make a specific distinction between civilians and militants and to take constant precaution in carrying out military operations to save civilians, Cutts added.

"Directing any attack on civilians is a violation of international humanitarian law".

Cutts said that as a result of the hostilities, over 1,000 civilian casualties including hundreds of children were reported by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in northwestern Syria since late April.

He said dozens of attacks against medical facilities and staff across Syria were also verified.

"I condemn this latest attack in the strongest possible terms. I call once again on all parties to the conflict to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, in line with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law," Cutts said.