GENEVA: The UN children’s fund UNICEF issued a blank “statement” on Tuesday to express its outrage at mass casualties among Syrian children in the besieged enclave of Eastern Ghouta and neighboring Damascus.
“No words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and their loved ones,” the release from UNICEF’s regional director Geert Cappalaere began.
There followed 10 empty lines with quote marks indicating missing text, and an explanatory footnote.
“UNICEF is issuing this blank statement. We no longer have the words to describe children’s suffering and our outrage,” it said.
“Do those inflicting the suffering still have words to justify their barbaric acts?“
Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have been besieging almost 400,000 civilians trapped inside Eastern Ghouta for years, but the siege has tightened this year and attacks on the enclave have intensified.
Siege tactics and indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas contravene the internationally-agreed “rules of war.”
Pro-government forces carried out air raids on Eastern Ghouta overnight on Monday and early on Tuesday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
More than 100 people were killed in air raids, rocket strikes and shelling of the area on Monday, it added.
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UN issues blank statement on Syria, says it has run out of words
UN issues blank statement on Syria, says it has run out of words
US resumes food aid to Somalia
- The United States on Thursday announced the resumption of food distribution in Somalia, weeks after the destruction of a US-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse at Mogadishu’s port
NAIROBI: The United States on Thursday announced the resumption of food distribution in Somalia, weeks after the destruction of a US-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse at Mogadishu’s port.
In early January, Washington suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, saying Somali officials had “illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid meant for vulnerable Somalis.”
US officials then warned any future aid would depend on the Somali government taking accountability, a stance Mogadishu countered by saying the warehouse demolition was part of the port’s “expansion and repurposing works.”
On Wednesday, however, the Somali government said “all WFP commodities affected by port expansion have been returned.”
In a statement Somalia said it “takes full responsibility” and has “provided the World Food Program with a larger and more suitable warehouse within the Mogadishu port area.”
The US State Department said in a post on X that: “We will resume WFP food distribution while continuing to review our broader assistance posture in Somalia.”
“The Trump Administration maintains a firm zero tolerance policy for waste, theft, or diversion of US resources,” it said.
US president Donald Trump has slashed aid over the past year globally.
Somalis in the United States have also become a particular target for the administration in recent weeks, targeted in immigration raids.
They have also been accused of large-scale public benefit fraud in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali community in the country with around 80,000 members.
In early January, Washington suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, saying Somali officials had “illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid meant for vulnerable Somalis.”
US officials then warned any future aid would depend on the Somali government taking accountability, a stance Mogadishu countered by saying the warehouse demolition was part of the port’s “expansion and repurposing works.”
On Wednesday, however, the Somali government said “all WFP commodities affected by port expansion have been returned.”
In a statement Somalia said it “takes full responsibility” and has “provided the World Food Program with a larger and more suitable warehouse within the Mogadishu port area.”
The US State Department said in a post on X that: “We will resume WFP food distribution while continuing to review our broader assistance posture in Somalia.”
“The Trump Administration maintains a firm zero tolerance policy for waste, theft, or diversion of US resources,” it said.
US president Donald Trump has slashed aid over the past year globally.
Somalis in the United States have also become a particular target for the administration in recent weeks, targeted in immigration raids.
They have also been accused of large-scale public benefit fraud in Minnesota, which has the largest Somali community in the country with around 80,000 members.
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