Across Middle East, 2,700 people have been killed by US, Israeli and Iranian attacks- Jan Egeland

Jan Egeland, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Secretary General has lamented the precarious conditions millions of people have been left in just one month of war in Iran:

Egeland made the remark in a statement titled: “Iran: One month of war leaves millions in extreme uncertainty”.

The statement fully reads:

“After one month of relentless Israeli and American bombing across Iran, the civilian population is exhausted and traumatised. Millions have already fled in search of safety. Others stay in fear that displacement will be even more dangerous as nowhere seems to be safe. Across the Middle East, 2,700 people have been killed by US, Israeli and Iranian attacks, more than half of whom are in Iran. Civilians are paying the highest price for this war. It must end.

“Countless homes, hospitals and schools have been damaged or destroyed. My colleagues tell me that in nearly every neighbourhood of Tehran buildings are destroyed with surrounding damages. Desperate families tape their windows to prevent shattered glass that has already caused too many civilians casualties. With no internet and heavily disrupted banking services daily life is increasingly difficult.

“My NRC colleagues in Iran are working under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions to scale up our relief for families displaced by the war. Each night they lie awake, listening to the explosions and fearing for their lives, and each morning they return to work, doing all they can to support families in dire need.

“The more than four million Afghans in Iran are among the most vulnerable. Many Afghan families have lost their only source of income, as informal work has collapsed. The vast majority live in cities that are under heavy attack. Many Afghans cannot flee as they have nowhere to go, or no permission to do so. More than 35,000 Afghans have made the journey back to Afghanistan from Iran since the start of the war and more than one million Afghans in Iran remain at risk of deportation to Afghanistan, a country that is in no position to receive them.

“Billions of dollars are spent on this war each week but our life-saving humanitarian relief both in Afghanistan and Iran are extremely underfunded. Organisations simply do not have the resources to prevent people from going hungry nor give emergency shelter to the homeless. We urge donors now step up their support to prevent further suffering.

“If this war continues, we risk a far wider humanitarian disaster. Millions could be forced to flee across borders, placing immense pressure on an already overstretched region.

“This war risks condemning ordinary people to unnecessary suffering for which they bear no responsibility. All parties to this conflict must respect international humanitarian law, cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East, and work to reach a diplomatic solution to this crisis.”