UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is gravely concerned by the renewed exchanges of fire overnight between the United States and Iran, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, said the secretary-general reiterates his call for an immediate cessation of military action, and urges all concerned to exercise restraint and refrain from actions and rhetoric that could further escalate already high tensions.
"The Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by reports of civilian casualties, including in a strike that reportedly hit a wedding ceremony in Iran. The Secretary-General condemns all attacks against civilians. He recalls that all parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution," said Dujarric.
The escalation in the Middle East has had a devastating impact on civilians and added further pressure on humanitarian needs and operations across the region and beyond. In a region already facing many humanitarian crises, the escalation in the Gulf risks further deterioration at a time when humanitarian operations are already overstretched and underfunded, said Dujarric.
"The Secretary-General urges the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to return urgently to diplomacy. A comprehensive and durable settlement can be achieved only through dialogue and negotiations," said the spokesman.
UN chief voices concern over latest US-Iran exchanges of fire
UN chief voices concern over latest US-Iran exchanges of fire
The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surpassed 3,000, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the risks of undetected chains of transmission.
As of Aug 31, the DRC had recorded 6,186 confirmed cases and 3,007 deaths, according to an official situation report. A total of 1,409 patients have recovered, while 830 others remain in isolation or Ebola treatment centers.
The outbreak has affected 60 health zones across the six provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, South Kivu and Bas-Uele. Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for 81.9 percent of all confirmed cases nationwide.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC is moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreaks in the country.
Tedros said that there are still undetected chains of transmission in the current outbreak, adding that many deaths are among people who were not on a list of known contacts.
Until every chain is found and broken, the epidemic will continue, he added.
During Tuesday's online briefing, Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, warned that the virus was still outpacing the scaled-up response.
Unless the response efforts are stepped up urgently, more lives will be lost and the threat will grow, he said.
The UN official also revealed that over 40 health workers have died from Ebola while responding to the outbreak, while treatment centers and ambulances have also come under attack.
The current outbreak, declared in May, has since become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest globally, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.
DR Congo Ebola deaths top 3,000 as WHO warns risks of unclear transmission chains
