Press Release

Hostilities in Qamishli, North-East Syria - Joint statement

28 April 2021

The United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Mr. Imran Riza, and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Mr. Muhannad Hadi, express their concern over the recent hostilities in Qamishli city, north-east Syria, and the impact of these hostilities on civilians.

On 20 April, armed clashes and shelling, including ground strikes on military positions, erupted between armed groups in the residential neighbourhoods of Harat Tayy and Halko in Qamishli city. A negotiated permanent ceasefire was agreed between the two parties on 25 April, and reports indicate that hundreds of families have since returned to their homes.

This escalation of violence caused civilian casualties and displacements. While assessments are ongoing, as many as 20,000 people were forced to flee. Further, according to UN verified information, three civilians were killed, including two children. At least two men and two children were injured in crossfire. Mr. Riza and Mr. Hadi pass on the deepest of sympathy to the families of those who were killed and injured.

Mr. Riza and Mr. Hadi strongly condemn this recent escalation of hostilities and call on all parties to the conflict to maintain the ceasefire. The protection of civilians remains paramount in all circumstances and the blatant disregard for civilian safety runs contrary to international human rights law, as well as obligations under international humanitarian law that all parties to the conflict are bound to respect.

For further information:

Danielle Moylan, Spokesperson OCHA Syria, moylan@un.org

Torsten Flying, Strategic Communications Officer OCHA Regional Office for the Syrian Crisis, torsten.flyng@un.org

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.

Adam Abdelmoula

Adam Abdelmoula

RCO
Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator
abdelmoula@un.org
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Mr. Abdelmoula brings more than 35 years of experience in development, rule of law, human rights, humanitarian work and security, of which the last 24 have been with the UN.
Prior to his appointment as United Nations Resident Coordinator, he was serving as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, where he led the UN’s development and humanitarian activities amid the worst drought in generations, political instability, disease outbreaks and a looming famine.
Prior to this, Mr. Abdelmoula held different positions within the UN System, including as Director of the UN Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Country Director for Iraq at the UN Development Programme (UNDP); Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative in Syria and Kuwait, Chief of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Section at OHCHR, Deputy Chief of the United Nations Mission in Liberia Human Rights Division, Chief Human Rights Officer of the United Nation Assistant Mission for Iraq and Senior Rule of Law and Human Rights Adviser for Somalia.
Before joining the UN, Mr. Abdelmoula worked for several international and regional organizations including Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Arab Lawyers Union and the Fund for Peace.
Mr. Abdelmoula has a doctorate in public international law from Georgetown University, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School and Bachelor of Law from Khartoum University.

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