UN spokesman: Over 126,000 displaced from Syria's Afrin city since Turkish operation

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Tue, 23 Jan 2018 - 09:20 GMT

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Tue, 23 Jan 2018 - 09:20 GMT

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighters are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighters are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

NEW YORK - 23 January 2018: Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General Stéphane Dujarric said more than 126,000 people were displaced from Afrin since the launch of the Turkish operation code-named Operation Olive Branch in the Syrian city, the UN News Center reported on Tuesday.

"As for Afrin, we're obviously following that situation extremely closely. We're very much concerned about the ongoing reports of fighting and military operations in the Afrin district," he said.

"As far as our humanitarian colleagues have told us, there are about 324,000 men, women and children, including 126,000 already displaced. So, the risk to civilians is great. The continued fighting, the military operations, has placed these civilians in harm's way. As I said, many of these people have already been displaced once, if not twice,"he said.

"In fact, 60 percent of the population of the district is in need of humanitarian aid and relies on humanitarian aid. We have been preparing for a large‑scale response depending on the needs of the civilian population. And again, we cannot stress enough the need for all parties involved to protect civilians, to protect civilian infrastructure, and to respect international law," he added.

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