RIYADH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2020) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is concerned about the civilians currently trapped in Syria's Idlib amid the Damascus-Ankara standoff and is in contact with both sides about the situation on the ground, Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the 2nd Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum.
The escalation in Idlib began last week with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists (banned in Russia) launching an attack on the Syrian government forces. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, after the Syrian troops responded, Turkish soldiers, who were not supposed to be there, were caught in the crossfire.
"Of course, we, all of us in the aid community, in the UN, are very worried about the situation of civilians trapped literally in the Northern part of the Idlib province. The estimates are that it is almost 1 million people that are displaced and the access is not easy there," Grandi said.
"Therefore, we continue to make a plea essentially for a diplomatic solution to that conflict because we believe that military solutions would just increase the hardship for civilians even further," the commissioner continued.
When asked whether the agency was in contact with the relevant sides there, Grandi said, "Yes."
"We ... have operated on the basis of Security Council resolutions through local NGO's that provide a minimum of assistance," he explained.
The displaced people are currently in desperate need of tents or any other type of shelter that will shield them from the cold temperatures, Grandi said.
"So, that's what we are trying to step up with the rest of the aid community. Of course, this is Idlib. We, of course, work in the whole of Syria, also in other parts, and it continues to be quite a challenging situation to have to work in that context, but that is the most acute problem at the moment, Idlib," Grandi said.
The recent escalation has resulted in a new wave of Syrian refugees seeking safe places in neighboring countries, including Turkey. Last week, Turkey announced it was opening its borders with Europe � Greece and Bulgaria � to allow refugees through. The Greek government has not opened its border, however.
