UNITED NATIONS, May 24: The UN Security Council and the United Nations human rights chief on Thursday expressed strong concern over the fate of civilians caught in the fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam gunmen at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
In a statement to the press read out by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad of the
United States, which holds the rotating presidency this month, Council members expressed deep concern at the violence at Nahr el-Bared camp, where more than 60 people have been killed and numerous others injured since clashes erupted on Sunday.
The statement called the actions of the Fatah al-Islam gunmen “an unacceptable attack on Lebanon’s stability, security and sovereignty” and stressed the need to protect and provide aid to the camp’s civilian population.
Nahr el-Bared is home to nearly 31,000 people, including about 8,000 classified by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as special hardship cases. About 10,000 have now fled to the nearby Beddawi refugee camp or to a stadium in the city of Tripoli, where UNRWA is spearheading aid efforts.
In a separate statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise
Arbour said she was distressed by the reports of civilian deaths and injuries, adding that all sides to the fighting have an obligation to exercise precaution and protect civilians.
“The protection from attack for humanitarian workers and medical personnel and their unrestricted access to civilians are also guaranteed under the principles of international humanitarian law,” her statement noted.
“The shelling of an UNRWA convoy is unacceptable,” she added, referring to the attack against a group of six vehicles from UNRWA that was attempting to deliver and distribute supplies such as milk, bread and medicines to the besieged civilians.
