Briefing members of the international press this afternoon at United Nations Headquarters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the \u201cepic humanitarian catastrophe\u201d facing the 18,000 Palestinian refugees and Syrians being held hostage by extremist militants in Yarmouk camp.
\n\u201cIn the horror that is Syria, the Yarmouk refugee camp is the deepest circle of hell,\u201d he said. \u201cA refugee camp is beginning to resemble a death camp. The residents of Yarmouk \u2013 including 3,500 children \u2013 are being turned into human shields.\u201d
\nAfter more than two years of a merciless siege, residents now faced a \u201cdouble-edged sword\u201d, with members of ISIL and other extremist groups inside the camp and Government forces outside.
\n\u201cWe are now hearing worrying reports of a massive assault on the camp and all civilians in it,\u201d as he described the latest chapter in a war which, he said, had long ago exceeded words to describe the mayhem. \u201cThis would be yet one more outrageous war crime for which those responsible must be held accountable.\u201d
\nMr. Ban said the priority is to stabilize the situation in the camp and he joined the Security Council in demanding an end to hostilities, access for humanitarian assistance and safe passage for civilians who wish to escape safely.
\nIn that regard, he called on all Member States with influence on the Government and all parties on the ground to take all steps necessary to send a clear message.
\n\u201cCivilians must be spared. Civilians must be protected at all times,\u201d he said, adding that he would continue to press that unequivocal message in meetings and phone calls with world leaders as the international community faced an \u201cepic test\u201d of its resolve as it tried to avoid an \u201cepic humanitarian catastrophe.\u201d
\nConcerted action to save lives in Yarmouk and restore a measure of humanity was needed and he underlined that the world could not simply stand by, abandon Yarmouk\u2019s residents and watch a massacre unfold.
\n\u201cSurely we can all agree that what is unfolding in Yarmouk is unacceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cSurely, we can all act to end the suffering. Surely, we can all refuse to tolerate the intolerable.\u201d
\nun.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Briefing members of the international press this afternoon at United Nations Headquarters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the \u201cepic humanitarian catastrophe\u201d facing the 18,000 Palestinian refugees and Syrians being held hostage by extremist militants in Yarmouk camp. \u201cIn the horror that is Syria, the Yarmouk refugee camp is the deepest circle of hell,\u201d he said. \u201cA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[293],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-middle-east"],"yoast_head":"\n