Al Jazeera | 29.06.2018
Number of displaced people jumps amid UN alarm at reports of fleeing civilians being forced to pay for safe passage.
The United Nations has warned of a looming „catastrophe“ in southern Syria, as it raised the number of people fleeing a fierce government offensive aimed at retaking rebel-held areas to 160,000.
Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the UN’s high Commissioner for human rights, said in a statement on Friday that there was a „grave risk that intensified fighting will see many civilians trapped“, condemning „[how] civilians in Syria continue to be used as pawns by the various parties“.
Launched on June 19, the Syrian government’s military push is intended to recapture the southern provinces of Deraa, Quneitra and parts of Sweida, still mostly held by opposition fighters.