World News in Brief: Afghanistan airstrikes, rights violations in DR Congo, Gaza displacement

World News in Brief: Afghanistan airstrikes, rights violations in DR Congo, Gaza displacement
At least 28 civilians were killed and 49 injured in airstrikes carried out in Paktya, Paktika and Kunar provinces in Afghanistan on Sunday evening, the UN Mission in the country has reported.
“We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery for the injured,” the Kabul-based UN mission (UNAMA) said in a statement.
Women and children among victims
Women and children are among the victims, and the current casualty figures are preliminary and may increase as hospitals continue to treat the injured, the mission added.
According to UNAMA, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed Pakistani security forces had conducted strikes in the three provinces.
More than 20 dead
On Sunday evening, at around 11.30pm local time, in Paktya province, Chamkani district, an airstrike killed at least 22 civilians and injured at least 47 others.
At around the same time, in Paktika province, Gyan district, a further airstrike killed six civilians; a third airstrike, in Kunar province, Marawara district, injured two children.
UNAMA is continuing its verification work on these incidents, reiterating its call for respect for the international humanitarian law principles of precaution, distinction and proportionality to protect civilians from harm.
Guterres calls for diplomacy
“We continue to call on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and continue to stress that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Monday.
Mr. Guterres offered his condolences to the families of the victims and noted that the latest attacks have reportedly triggered displacement.
Civilians face human rights abuses in DR Congo
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), investigators with the Commission of Inquiry on North Kivu and South Kivu found that civilians face sexual violence, unlawful killings and human rights violations against children in the country’s war-torn east.
In an update to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Commission said it had received testimonies of conflict-related sexual violence, sexual slavery, forced recruitment into armed gangs of youngsters and multiple other serious rights violations.
The commission’s update forms part of its ongoing mandate from the Human Rights Council to establish the facts and causes of violations in eastern DRC. This includes potential war crimes linked to the latest escalation involving M23 fighters who control Goma, a major trading city on the border with Rwanda.
“The suffering brought to our attention calls for more than concern,” said lead investigator Arnauld Akodjenou. “It requires sustained attention, rigorous investigation and determined international engagement.”
He also noted that the Ebola outbreak has worsened the humanitarian crisis in the DRC and called for combatants to allow humanitarian workers safe passage to assist communities hit by the outbreak.
Calls for accountability
In his address, Mr. Akodjenou stressed that all parties must allow humanitarian workers safe and rapid access to people in need, including women, children and those with disabilities.
No victim or witness of abuse should face intimidation or reprisals or retaliations for engaging with the UN, including independent investigators, Mr. Akodjenou stressed.
Girl killed in Gaza amid ceasefire
Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a teenage girl has been reportedly killed in Gaza by shrapnel, despite the ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and the Israeli military.
The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said children in the Gaza Strip remain trapped in an endless cycle of displacement, hunger, fear, disease and death.
“A single day in this reality would be considered inhumane, but children have been living this day after day, month after month for more than two and a half years,” UNICEF spokesperson Louise Wateridge told UN News.
More families displaced
In Deir al Balah governorate, Israel has pushed the so-called “Yellow Line” of demarcation further into Gaza, expanding the territory that is virtually off limits to all Palestinians, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
More than 20 families have been displaced in eastern Deir al Balah governorate, and more than a dozen have been displaced in the eastern part of Gaza City, OCHA said.
Newly displaced people told the UN’s humanitarian partners that they were ordered to leave when Israeli forces advanced toward their residential areas while dropping explosive munitions from the air.
The UN and its partners are supporting newly displaced families through a rapid joint distribution mechanism, Mr. Dujarric said.
Humanitarian efforts hampered
On Tuesday, Israel expanded the area in which the UN and its humanitarian partners must coordinate every movement with the Israeli government by about 800 square meters.
The area now comprises about 65 per cent of the land in Gaza, OCHA said.
“Having to coordinate every movement with Israeli authorities in most of Gaza undermines our service provision,” Mr. Dujarric said.
The coordination requirement increases the operational costs of humanitarian assistance, causes delays and cuts off access to essential facilities such as landfills.
Forces affiliated with the de facto authorities in Gaza have also hindered humanitarian efforts by stopping convoys for inspection and entering UN warehouses and facilities, which is illegal.
As Palestinians remain crammed into just 40 percent of the enclave’s territory, UNICEF insists that lifesaving services be protected from interference.