Military Operations in Syria’s Yarmouk Camp Displace 7,000 Mostly Palestinian Refugees – Daily Press Briefing by SecGen Spokesman (excerpts)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 20 APRIL 2018

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• Following military operations in Syria’s Yarmouk Camp, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that some 7,000 people – 70 per cent of them Palestinian refugees – were displaced to Yalda, Babilla and Beit Sahem towns in Rural Damascus.
• Since 13 April, hostilities in southern Damascus have resulted in civilian deaths and injuries, as well as the displacement of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure.
• The United Nations and partners stand ready to deliver inter-agency humanitarian assistance to people in need in Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem, as well as to Yarmouk, as soon as the conditions allow and access is granted.
• The United Nations calls on all parties, and those with influence over them, to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to all in need in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law.  The United Nations further reminds all parties that any evacuation of civilians must be safe, voluntary and in strict accordance with protection standards under international law.
• And earlier today, Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefed the Security Council in closed consultations concerning allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria.

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