LOC15:53
12:53 GMT
GENEVA, Oct 15 (KUNA) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday expressed its deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in northern Syria, where heavy fighting is displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
"According to humanitarian partners, an estimated 190,000 people have fled their homes in northeast Syria since the latest round of military operations began last Wednesday", said the IOM in a press release.
"All parties to the conflict must adhere to International Humanitarian Law. Humanitarians must be allowed access to the displaced in order to provide urgent medical and lifesaving assistance," the statement quoted IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino as saying.
Continued military operations will have "devastating consequences for the seven million people living in northern Syria," he added.
On Monday, IOM's Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RART) were deployed to Iraq's Kurdistan region, attending to a group of 182 people who fled the fighting across unofficial entry points.
Two doctors and a psychologist were also present to provide emergency medical and psychosocial care.
The inter-governmental body is prepared to scale up its humanitarian response in the region, should more people become displaced and need assistance, the statement highlighted.
Many of Syria's 6.1 million internally displaced people have been repeatedly forced from their homes, where an estimated 400,000 people in the northwest of the country were displaced up until August of this year.
IOM has been supporting displaced Syrians and their host communities since the beginning of the crisis in 2011 and will continue to provide lifesaving assistance to those most in need, added the statement. (end)
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