© UNHCR/D. Al Mussawir Consequences of attacks in southern Lebanon (photo from the archive). Top news of the day | Thursday: Lebanon, Ebola, Nepal, Ratko Mladic UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: escalation in southern Lebanon, the Secretary General called for additional funding to combat the Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo, 2 million allocated to support flood victims in Nepal, the death of the former commander of the Bosnian Serb forces Ratko Mladic.
Escalation in southern Lebanon
Renewed fighting in southern Lebanon threatens the safety of civilians and is leading to the destruction of homes and infrastructure, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns. Following reports of Hezbollah drone attacks and Israeli retaliatory strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon is calling for restraint and a resumption of negotiations to avoid further escalation. Peacekeepers continue to detect airspace violations as well as extensive ground activity from the IDF.
Ebola Outbreak
The current Ebola outbreak has become the largest in the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the fastest growing epidemic of this disease in the history of monitoring. At the same time, international attention and resources provided to the country do not yet correspond to the scale of the crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday. The humanitarian plan is only 48 percent funded, thanks in large part to a large contribution from the United States. However, available resources will only last for a few weeks, the Secretary-General warned.
Asia floods
At least 17,000 children are in urgent need of assistance following massive floods that hit parts of Nepal on 26 August. This was reported on Thursday from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher has released the first $2 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support those affected. According to preliminary data, a natural disaster on the Nepal-China border has claimed the lives of more than 350 people, including at least 14 children. Hundreds of people remain missing.
Death of Ratko Mladic
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken note of the reported death of Ratko Mladic, the former commander of Bosnian Serb forces, officials said today. UN press service. Mladic was serving a life sentence after being found guilty in 2017 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. The Secretary General expressed solidarity with the victims and condemned all actions aimed at denying the fact of genocide in Srebrenica and glorifying those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.