Over 145,000 displaced as sporadic violence persists in Syria's Sweida: UN

Damascus, July 24 (IANS) Sporadic clashes, drone strikes, and ground fighting continued in Syria's Sweida province and surrounding areas despite a declared truce, with the number of displaced reaching more than 145,000, the United Nations said.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday, the violence between July 20 and 22 has included mortar attacks and aerial surveillance, further injuring civilians and forcing thousands to flee, Xinhua news agency reported.

Most of the displaced have remained within Sweida province, while others have sought safety in neighbouring Daraa and Rural Damascus governorates.

Access to basic services remains severely disrupted across Sweida.

The UN reported widespread outages in electricity, water, fuel, and telecommunications, while food insecurity is worsening due to market disruptions and the closure of bakeries.

Humanitarian organisations have begun responding to the crisis, delivering medical care, protection services, food, clean water, and non-food items to affected communities, although access constraints continue to hamper efforts.

Two batches of aid distributions from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) have reached parts of Sweida and Salkhad districts, providing food, fuel, and medical supplies.

The UN warned that displacement is still ongoing and that overcrowded shelters, poor sanitation facilities, and contamination from explosive ordnance are compounding protection risks for already vulnerable populations.

More than 93,000 Syrians have been displaced across Sweida, neighbouring Dar'a governorate and Rural Damascus due to escalating violence in the city, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at Monday's daily press briefing in New York.

Most displaced people in Sweida are staying with local communities or in one of 15 reception centres, while around 30 collective shelters have opened in Dar'a.

Infrastructure and services are suffering in the area. Some hospitals and health centres in Sweida are out of service, water infrastructure has been critically damaged, significant cuts to electricity have been reported, and access to food is disrupted.

The convoy of 32 trucks carried food, water, medical supplies and fuel provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed this initial delivery on social media, saying it was a "desperately needed first step, but much more relief is needed".

Dujarric stressed that as the UN engages with relevant parties to facilitate humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is working with authorities to facilitate a direct visit to Sweida to deliver assistance when security conditions allow.

Fletcher echoed this sentiment, saying OCHA teams "are mobilised to move as much as we can".

"We continue to urge all parties to protect people who have been caught up in the violence, including by allowing them to move freely to seek safety and medical assistance," Dujarric concluded.

--IANS

int/khz