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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| UN bracing for Lebanon catastrophe |
| 2006-07-20 |
| THE United Nations emergency relief coordinator said today he was preparing for a humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon and insisted the situation there was worsening by the hour. Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said nearly 500,000 people were fleeing Israel's deadly retaliatory attacks on Hezbollah militia in Lebanon - a third of them children. He branded Israel's air raids disproportionate as they continued into the ninth day of a conflict which has killed more than 300 people but said Hezbollah bore a heavy responsibility for hiding out in civilian areas. Mr Egeland said the UN was experiencing "enormous problems" in carrying out its duties because they are "caught in the crossfire" too. "They (the Lebanese) will keep on suffering in a way that we all need to understand is unacceptable," he told the BBC. "And their situation will get worse in the coming days as their coping mechanisms erode. "The World Food Program has food in the country but cannot move it around due to the security and the effects of the bombardment. This situation has to change because it will become a humanitarian catastrophe if it doesn't. "The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the hour; there has been an exponential increase in the number of displaced. "We have 400,000, nearing 500,000, people fleeing the conflict and worse, nearly one third of them are children. This is an example of how this war is hurting the civilians more than the soldiers. "Hezbollah has to stop the rain of rockets on Israel and Israel has to stop targeting civilian infrastructure and people." On Israel's response to Hezbollah's kidnap of two Israeli soldiers and slaying of eight others, he said: "It is disproportionate". "But also, Hezbollah is trying to blend into the civilian population. They bear a heavy responsibility for doing so, but they don't care that they are inflicting suffering on their own people." Mr Egeland said it was "nearly impossible to move anything in southern Lebanon". He said the UN had asked for the international ships taking out their nationals fleeing Lebanon to bring in humanitarian relief supplies and hoped that the situation would change in the coming days. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #14 Not our JosephMendiola, Tony (UK). JosephM is much more excited about things, unless he is conveying solid and useful information... which he conveys in a solid and useful tone. And he never responds directly to others. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-07-20 20:00 |
| #13 The 2 soldiers kidnapped (Remeber them Jan? The match that lit this fire?) were taken hostage wihtin 300 yards from a UN outpost. Blue Helmets out trolling for kids at the time of the attack? |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2006-07-20 18:43 |
| #12 Joseph?... |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-07-20 18:22 |
| #11 Duly Noted, I've heard not word 1 from un, about the humanitarian crisis 12 years old in north korea, remember un's role in rawanda? How about thier present culpability in darfur....its why we need a new N, without a single socialist voice, within earshot of any microphone, the left has a record, nobody can defend it! shut down US funding of anything UN, and PS< the relief supplies are in jeprody of UN SOP....loot loot loot. |
| Posted by: Thavitle Elmaiper3043 2006-07-20 17:38 |
| #10 Kofihas a point. The only way to really guarantee a catastrophe is to send in the UN. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2006-07-20 17:35 |
| #9 How about investigating the French massacre, |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2006-07-20 17:30 |
| #8 Seems like how war should be waged. Don't try to squeeze them to death, just shatter them. It won't be long before all this is over. Don't try to slow Israel down or you will pay with interest later. Git 'er dun! Hold out the example, be prepared to do it again, and maybe you won't have to do it so often in the future. Those are the dividends you stand to reap. Personally I think one reason the international community doesn't like this because they are afraid of funding the rebuilding effort (Israel is already paying in blood, so the rest, not Israel, should have to pay with treasure). It also seems good back home if you can say "See, I voted for peace!", even though it ends up costing more lives in the end. I'm sure many people don't see things this way, it's too counterintuitive and not idealistic enough. The people of the world have to understand and accept this fact and push their reps to accept it, too. Otherwise they will just keep pushing for the instant gratification of "peace now" now matter what the consequences. Yes, 1/3 or so are kids. I would expect that. Duh. Don't need to point that out as if it's unusual. Kids go with their parents. I hope countries do the right thing this time and airdrop kilotons of food before they starve and not after. The UN has plans and food stockpiles somewhere I would hope. It's lots of sudden hard work, but if it is so hard and it makes you feel better, switch places with one of the refugees. They did it decades ago with the Berlin Air Drops, they should be able to do it in spades today. It shouldn't be called "impossible" in order to make the job easier in the short run, because you'll just end up working harder in the long by perpetuating the cycle. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-07-20 17:15 |
| #7 Why don't you go wander out into no-man's land and start clucking "unacceptable! unacceptable!" at the combatants, wiggler? |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-07-20 17:10 |
| #6 I seem to remember being warned that Afghanistan would be a humanitarian catastrophe too, with "millions dead". |
| Posted by: Snickers 2006-07-20 17:08 |
| #5 Worse than Darfur? Worse than Zimbabwe? Worse tha North Korea? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-07-20 17:01 |
| #4 This is what happens, when your monitor's stand by why the people you are supposed to be observing build a small army under your nose, without so much as a "Hey, cut that out" from you. |
| Posted by: plainslow 2006-07-20 16:56 |
| #3 The UN is bracing for their cronies to get their asses kicked by the Israelies. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-07-20 16:51 |
| #2 Hey, Jan, how the heck are ya? I haven't seen you since you called Americans stingy after the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004. Jan, just so you know, we sent in the Marines. Don't screw with us, ok? |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-07-20 16:44 |
| #1 Maybe he should have thought about that before allowing Hez and Ham to use U.N. trucks and ambulances as weapons transports. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-07-20 16:35 |