UN News Today July 2 |

This is UN News Today with me Daniel Johnson….the headlines:

• Gaza: 250,000 feared displaced in new Khan Younis escalation
• Near-famine conditions only one of Sudan’s problems
• In Haiti, a child a minute is uprooted by gang violence
• And… a 5,000-metre mountain is named in honour of the UN

Gaza: 250,000 set to be displaced by new Khan Younis escalation

“Chaos and panic” are spreading in southern Gaza where an

estimated 250,000 people are set to be impacted by new Israeli military evacuation orders from Khan Younis, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

In an alert detailing another night of heavy bombardment from Beit Hanoun in the north to Rafah in the south, the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that Gazans fleeing the southern city have had to erect shelters at the water’s edge, because displacement camps are already packed at the coast.

Only a few weeks ago, Khan Younis was deserted after intense bombardment damaged or destroyed homes and buildings, but families with few other options went there after Israeli Defense Forces moved into Rafah at the beginning of May.

With more, here’s UNRWA Senior Communications Officer Louise Wateridge:

“It’s another devasting blow to the humanitarian response here, it’s another devasting blow to the people and the families on the ground. It seems that they are forcibly being displaced again and again. It seems that they, forcibly being displaced, again and again, you know, making these decisions is now impossible. How do parents decide where to go? Where is there to go.”

UN refugee agency seeks $1.5 billion to help Sudan’s neighbours hosting war victims

Millions of people have been forced out of Sudan where brutal civil war continues to unfold; to help them and provide lifesaving aid, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, appealed on Tuesday for $1.5 billion.

Ewan Watson, Head of Global Communications at UNHCR, said that the funding would assist and protect up to 3.3 million people forced to flee the violence and “near-famine conditions”, for the next six months.

“Horrific though that is, it is not just about famine, it’s about brutal human rights violations, it’s about floods that are expected to be the worst in many years this year, and that not only hampers the delivery of humanitarian aid, but it means that people are trapped where they are with little aid and not able to flee.”

Sudan’s war began 14 months ago when rival militaries the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces clashed following rising tensions linked to a transition to civilian rule.

Thousands of people still flee Sudan every day according to UNHCR, which noted that 10 million people have been uprooted by the violence to date, with many displaced multiple times as they search for safety.

With additional funding the UN refugee agency plans to bolster assistance to refugees and host communities in Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.

In Haiti, a child a minute is uprooted by gang violence, warns UNICEF

Violence and instability in Haiti have displaced more than 300,000 youngsters since March – an estimated one child every minute, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, described the impact of Haiti’s chronic gang violence on children and adolescents as a “humanitarian catastrophe” that was taking “a devastating toll on them”.

Displaced youngsters “are in desperate need of a safe and protective environment, and increased support and funding from the international community,” she insisted in a statement.

Across the Caribbean island nation, an estimated three million children need humanitarian assistance, against a backdrop of years of political turmoil, widespread poverty, rampant disease and multiple disasters.

With few other means of survival or protection, children are increasingly forced to join armed groups – a clear breach of international law, UNICEF stressed.

Kyrgyzstan prepared to move mountains in support of UN’s work

Finally, the UN scaled new heights on Tuesday after a peak in the Kyrgyz mountains was named after the global Organization.

The news came on Tuesday as UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Kyrgyzstan, the latest stop on his Central Asia tour.

The summit – now known as UN Peak – is located in the Tian Shan mountains; it stands at a height of 5,567 metres above sea level – or 18,264 feet – and it was named after the United Nations at the wishes of the president, Sadyr Japarov.

After accepting the honour, Mr. Guterres said that it should be a reminder to UN workers to always look up, to aspire and to make progress together, step by step.

The Secretary-General also said that the mountain reflected the links that the UN has forged with alpine communities and in recognition of their needs and efforts to protect these “breathtaking yet fragile ecosystems”.