UN: Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour deserted after recent fighting

[News_Editor]

UN: Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour deserted after recent fighting

2011-06-22 06:23:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday informed that the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour is almost deserted due to the recent fighting as most of its inhabitants fled towards the Turkish border.

According to UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards, around 150 diplomats visited Jisr al-Shugour near the Turkish border as part of a government-organized mission led by the Syrian military on Monday.

"Villages were increasingly empty from around 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from Jisr al Shugour. There was no evidence of people working in the fields. Jisr al Shugour itself was almost deserted, with most shops shuttered and closed," said Edwards.

No displaced populations were encountered as the town and the nearby villages were almost empty. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent told UNHCR that there were food and medicine shortages in the area.

On Monday, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said that the military had taken control of Jisr al Shugour and urged citizens that fled to the neighboring Turkey to return home. Assad blamed the fighting in the border area on vandals and militants.

However, the internally displaced Syrians continue fleeing to Turkey. As of Tuesday, 10,639 asylum seekers have reached Turkish soil. Many of them have contradicted Assad's claims and instead complained over the violence on civilians by Syrian security forces.

UNHCR said that most of the Syrian refugees in Turkish shelter camps were severely traumatized. Many of them told UN staff members that they lost relatives due to murders, targeted assassinations, assaults, torture and humiliation by the military, contradicting Assad's claims.

Meanwhile, Syria announced that a mass grave containing over 20 bodies of security and police forces was unearthed on Monday in the troubled Jisr al-Shugour. The discovery was made in the presence of around 70 diplomats who were in the region for the military-led mission.

The European Union, the UN and other international agencies have deplored the killing of innocent protesters and civilians. The EU on Monday called for an independent, effective and transparent investigation (as requested by the UN) on the alleged crimes against the population.

According to human rights activists, more than 1,400 Syrians have been killed and thousands more have been detained since the unrest began in mid-March. Pro-democracy demonstrations have continued across the country, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963. Protesters are demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, who took over from his father in 2000.

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