Evacuation of civilians from Ukraine’s Mariupol continues: UN
ANKARA – The evacuation of civilians who are trapped at the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s city of Mariupol continues, according to UN sources.
“A safe passage operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant is ongoing today, Sunday 1 May. The efforts are coordinated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in coordination with the parties to the conflict,” Saviano Abreu, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement.
“It was agreed with both parties to the conflict that civilians who had been stranded for nearly two months in Azovstal — women, children and the elderly — will be evacuated to (Zaporizhzhia), where they will receive immediate humanitarian support, including psychological services,” Abreu added.
He noted that the operations are still ongoing, so he “will not provide further details at this point, to guarantee the safety of the civilians and humanitarians in the convoy.”
Abreu stressed that the UN will also continue to push for the safe passage out of Mariupol for all those civilians who wish to leave.
Mariupol has been largely destroyed by Russian forces, who are pushing to form a land link between areas under Russian control in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
