More than 30,000 people displaced from eastern Aleppo, mostly children, U.N. says

Record ID: 75243

  • Title: More than 30,000 people displaced from eastern Aleppo, mostly children, U.N. says
  • Date: 2nd December 2016
  • Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (DECEMBER 2, 2016) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS BUILDING NEWS BRIEFING ONGOING UN STAFF (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA) SPOKESMAN, JENS LAERKE, SAYING: "The estimate as of this morning is of a total of 31,500 people who have been displaced between the 24th and the 30th of November. Some 18,000 individuals were displaced to Jibreen, in the eastern part of Aleppo which is under government of Syria control. Some 8,500 individuals were displaced to Sheikh Maqsoud, inhabited and controlled by Kurdish population majority. Some 5,000 individuals were displaced within besieged east Aleppo." CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. CHILDREN'S AGENCY (UNICEF) SPOKESMAN, CHRISTOPHE BOULIERAC, SAYING: "The staff who met with children over the last few days noted that you could see the loss and horror in their eyes. An eight-year-old girl said that she was so sad because she left her school bag behind - she just had to rush out of her house. Another girl, seven-years-old, was so excited to see the sight of bread that she screamed out, 'This is real bread!'...These are a few among the words of children... Let's keep in mind that every single child under the age of five in Syria has known nothing but war." JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA) SPOKESMAN, JENS LAERKE, SAYING: "We have reports that some men and boys have been detained when crossing into government-controlled areas and some internally displaced people have reported that they had their documents confiscated upon crossing into government-of-Syria-controlled areas. But also that some of the non-state armed groups have sought to prevent civilians from leaving eastern Aleppo." JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.N. OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA) SPOKESMAN, JENS LAERKE, SAYING: "We will discuss with the Russian Federation how we may use these corridors to evacuate people, especially the sick and wounded, and use those corridors to get medical supplies and other relief into eastern Aleppo. However, as with any humanitarian corridor, it is fundamental that all parties to the conflict guarantees its safety, otherwise it does not make sense." UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 17th December 2016 13:13
  • Keywords: Aleppo civil war children refugees
  • Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015B6ZKG7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: An estimated 31,500 people have been displaced from eastern Aleppo in six days since Russia and Syrian forces renewed a ferocious assault on the rebel-held part of the city, the United Nations said on Friday (December 2).
    "The estimate as of this morning is of a total of 31,500 people who have been displaced between the 24th and the 30th of November. Some 18,000 individuals were displaced to Jibreen, in the eastern part of Aleppo which is under government of Syria control. Some 8,500 individuals were displaced to Sheikh Maqsoud, inhabited and controlled by Kurdish population majority. Some 5,000 individuals were displaced within besieged east Aleppo," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters during a news briefing in Geneva.
    U.N. children's agency UNICEF said 60% of those fleeing the fierce fighting, totalling 19,000, were children.
    "The staff who met with children over the last few days noted that you could see the loss and horror in their eyes. An eight-year-old girl said that she was so sad because she left her school bag behind - she just had to rush out of her house. Another girl, seven-years-old, was so excited to see the sight of bread that she screamed out, 'This is real bread!'...These are a few among the words of children... Let's keep in mind that every single child under the age of five in Syria has known nothing but war," UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac said.
    The U.N. is scaling up its activities and presence in western Aleppo to help those displaced, who are for now being sheltered in partially destroyed or unfinished overcrowded buildings, while temperatures are going down.
    "We have reports that some men and boys have been detained when crossing into government-controlled areas and some internally displaced people have reported that they had their documents confiscated upon crossing into government-of-Syria-controlled areas. But also that some of the non-state armed groups have sought to prevent civilians from leaving eastern Aleppo," Laerke said.
    Syria and Russia have declined a U.N. request for a pause in the fighting to evacuate 400 sick and wounded in need of immediate treatment, but Russia proposed on Thursday to set up four humanitarian corridors.
    "We will discuss with the Russian Federation how we may use these corridors to evacuate people, especially the sick and wounded, and use those corridors to get medical supplies and other relief into eastern Aleppo. However, as with any humanitarian corridor, it is fundamental that all parties to the conflict guarantees its safety, otherwise it does not make sense," Laerke said.
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