SHOTLIST:
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying.
2. Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“We are alarmed by the continued escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The casualty count continues to climb on both sides of the conflict and civilians are suffering. In the Gaza Strip, home to an estimated 2 million Palestinians, hostilities are also having an impact on access to water, sanitation, healthcare and the COVID-19 response.”
Atrocity Alert No. 251: Myanmar (Burma), Afghanistan and Central African Republic
Format
THREE MONTHS SINCE MYANMAR’S MILITARY COUP, THE DEADLY CRACKDOWN CONTINUES
Last weekend marked three months since Myanmar’s military, headed by Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, overthrew the civilian-led government. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 769 people have been killed by the security forces since 1 February and at least 3,696 people are in detention for resisting the coup.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held a high-level summit on 24 April to discuss the crisis in Myanmar and agreed to a “Five-Point Consensus” which includes an immediate cessation of violence, constructive dialogue among all parties, appointment of a special envoy to facilitate mediation, provision of humanitarian aid and a visit by the envoy to Myanmar. The military issued a statement two days later, indicating they would only consider ASEAN’s proposal
Friday, 30 April 2021, 6:28 pm
Fresh clashes between Myanmar security forces and
regional armed groups have displaced thousands across the
country, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
According to
the Office, almost 50 clashes between the military and the
Kachin Independence Army were reported in several places in
Kachin state, including use of airstrikes by security forces
as well as mortar shelling by both sides, displacing nearly
5,000 people and damaging several homes.
“Around 800
people returned to their villages of origin within a few
days and an estimated 4,000 people remain displaced in
various sites, including in churches and monasteries”, OCHA said in a humanitarian
“Around 800 people returned to their villages of origin within a few days and an estimated 4,000 people remain displaced in various sites, including in churches and monasteries”, OCHA said in a humanitarian bulletin.
This was the first reported displacement in the country’s northernmost state since September 2018. Kachin had been hosting about 95,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in long-term camps since 2011.
“Humanitarians and local host communities are doing their best to provide emergency assistance to the newly displaced people, despite the operational challenges and insecurity”, OCHA added.
In neighboring Northern Shan state, escalating clashes since January forced about 10,900 people to flee their homes, of whom nearly 4,000 remain displaced, the Office added, noting that hostilities had also increased since February in Kayin and Bago states, displacing almost 40,000 people.
Recent fighting between government forces and rebels in northern Central African Republic (CAR) has forced more than 2,000 refugees into neighboring Chad over the past week, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
NEW YORK, USA, April 20, 2021,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-“According to the agency, new arrivals in Chad reported having fled clashes, as well as pillaging, extortion and other acts of violence at the hands of rebel groups. Most of the displaced were from CAR’s Kaga-Bandoro, Batangafo and Kabo regions.
UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said that to reach Chad, people had to wade shoulder-deep through the Grande Sido river, which flows along the Chad-CAR border, with the some carrying their few belongings on their heads.