UN expresses concern over \u2018deteriorating security conditions\u2019 at camp for displaced people controlled by Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n
Twelve people have been murdered at the overcrowded al-Hol camp for displaced people in northeastern Syria since the beginning of the year, according to United Nations figures.<\/p>\n
Imran Riza, the UN\u2019s resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator for Syria, and Muhannad Hadi, regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, expressed concerns over what they called \u201cdeteriorating security conditions\u201d at al-Hol camp.<\/p>\n
From January 1 to January 16, \u201cthe UN received reports of the murders of 12 Syrian and Iraqi camp residents, including one female Iraqi refugee. Another person was critically injured in a violent attack,\u201d the UN officials said in a statement late on Thursday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Circumstances of the reported murders were not clear.<\/strong><\/p>\n Al-Hol camp is located in a region controlled by Syria\u2019s Kurds and holds internal refugees and families of ISIL (ISIS) fighters.<\/p>\n It is the largest camp in the war-torn country, with more than 60,000 people, according to UN figures.<\/p>\n More than 80 percent of its inhabitants are women and children. Aid agencies have long complained of inhumane conditions in the overcrowded camp.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recent rise in violence among the camp population not only represents a tragic loss of life, it also jeopardises the ability for the UN and humanitarian partners to continue to safely deliver critical humanitarian assistance and services to residents,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, called on authorities who control security in the camp \u201cto ensure the safety of residents but also the humanitarian workers\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of that delivery is being thrown into jeopardy when the level of security rises to what we see now,\u201d Laerke told a UN briefing on Friday in Geneva.<\/p>\n Thousands of former ISIL supporters, including German nationals, are also kept at al-Hol.<\/p>\n The UN reported last year that several children had died there. The reasons varied from complications as a result of malnutrition, diarrhoea or internal bleeding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n