Red Cross delegation visits al-Hol camp

The number of refugees, displaced persons and IS' families' mercenaries in al- Hol camp was 71,624, after the Democratic Autonomous Administration opened the camp to receive refugees in 2016.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, visited the ICRC's Middle East director Fabrizio Karpani and the head of the Syrian Red Cross delegation, Philip Alexander, where they were received by the two co-chairs of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Zuzan Alloush, Abdul Kahder, and the co-chair of Organization Affairs in Al-Jazeera region Djwar Ahmed, and the camp administration.

Following the conclusion of the five-day visit of the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, to the north and east of Syria, he made the following statement:

I have seen the harsh conditions in the camp, which now hosts more than 74,000 people, efforts have been made to deal with the tens of thousands of people who flock to it. The needs are enormous in the camp and beyond its absorptive capacity.

These are all human beings who deserve humane treatment, and we must not allow inflammatory speeches about foreign fighters to distract us from the suffering caused by humanitarian emergencies in northeastern Syria today.

We call upon States to commitment this courage; to treat everyone in a humane manner that respects their dignity and in accordance with the law, including due process, family reunification wherever possible, and to ensure more resources to allow adequate humanitarian assistance.

We are doing our best, in al- Hol camp, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to provide food for newcomers to the camp, ensure water resources, tents, basic medical care and re-establish contact between families. But it is clear that much remains to be done: more shelter, more food and clean water, better sanitation and more health services.

Violence has not ended yet elsewhere in Syria after eight years of this disastrous conflict. There has been an escalation of fighting and violence recently in some areas of Idlib and its environs. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the new wave of hostilities. Any renewed violence will inevitably aggravate their situation.

(T/S)

ANHA