UN helping Eastern Ghouta evacuees in rural Damascus

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations continues to support evacuees from the besieged rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta in the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus, said a UN spokesman on Friday.

As of Thursday, an estimated 66,000 evacuees from Eastern Ghouta were being hosted in collective shelters in rural Damascus, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Most of the shelters do not have the capacity or infrastructure to accommodate the large number of people arriving, he told a daily press briefing.

Though the United Nations is not in charge of the management of these shelters, it has, together with its partners, mobilized a rapid response, with nonfood items, food, shelter items, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, nutrition and protection assistance being provided to those in need through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, he said.

In a separate development, airstrikes on the main market in the town of Harim near the Syrian-Turkish border reportedly caused the deaths of dozens of civilians and injured many more, said the spokesman.

The United Nations continues to call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure as required by international humanitarian law and human rights law, he said. Enditem