UN News Today 26 September 2024 |

Lebanon crisis: 90,000 displaced in last 72 hours, warns refugee agency

A new humanitarian crisis is unfolding at Lebanon’s border with Syria as thousands of people flee Israeli shelling linked to the war in Gaza, UN humanitarians said on Thursday, just as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Only hours earlier, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council that “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon” along the UN-patrolled line of separation, with exchanges of fire greater in “scope, depth and intensity” than before.

That warning came as the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported people fleeing from Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in the early hours of Thursday morning, in response to attacks on Israel, including a first attempted missile strike on Tel Aviv.

UNHCR Representative in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, said that thousands of people were arriving in Syria as the Israeli military announced strikes on more than 70 targets overnight in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and in southern Lebanon – both Hezbollah strongholds:

“They are women, they are children, men, we are here with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent providing them with some support, with some water, some food, some blankets and mattresses because many of them will be spending the night here at the border while they are processed.”

UNHCR said that more than 90,000 people have been displaced since 23 September and “more are abandoning their homes by the minute”.

UN human rights chief sounds alarm over Sudan’s El Fasher

To Sudan, where the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of a “growing” and “horrific toll on civilians” as rival militaries battle for control of the eastern city of El Fasher in North Darfur.

The city’s people have been under siege since May 2024 when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied tribal militia prevented people leaving in safety, unless they paid huge amounts to their captors.

In the past two weeks the battle for El Fasher has escalated significantly, UN rights chief Volker Türk said, as he noted that his Office has documented increasing numbers of civilians being killed from shelling and airstrikes by the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Mr. Türk said that the heaviest recent fighting on 20 and 21 September had killed at least 20 civilians after they were cut down by artillery fire near the main market. The actual number of civilian casualties is believed to be much higher, but telecommunications blackouts have made verification difficult, the High Commissioner said.

Ukraine’s children face a freezing winter amid ongoing energy strikes

As winter approaches in Ukraine, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has appealed for $32 million to keep critical services running for youngsters including water, sanitation, health and education.

The appeal comes amid repeated attacks on power stations and energy infrastructure since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

UNICEF is particularly concerned for the children and families who live within 30 kilometres of the frontline, as well as those who continue to be displaced and children in alternative care.

To help the most vulnerable, the UN agency and partners are distributing cash assistance and in-kind support, such as solid fuel, blankets and winter clothing, to some 100,000 people.

If attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continue, there could be power cuts of up to 18 hours a day, said UNICEF.

Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine, said that children’s physical and mental health were at risk, as youngsters’ lives “are consumed by thoughts of survival, not childhood”.

Without adequate electricity, the UN agency forecasts that schools may be forced to close and online education could be disrupted for 1.7 million children.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

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