UN: More than a million Ukrainians displaced *Join* : https://facebook/groups/mohamedmedia/ *Like* : https://facebook/MohamedMediaPage *Visit* : Mohamed Media ( mohamedmedia.in ) *Link* : wp.me/p4SGbx-gx More than one million people have been uprooted by the conflict in Ukraine, including 260,000 within the country where further mass displacement is feared due to ongoing fighting, the United Nations has said. Some Ukrainian nationals have fled by motorcycle to Russia, while others have escaped the crisis by spending the summer months at European spas or visiting grandparents, it said. The total includes 814,000 Ukrainians now in Russia with various forms of status, as well as compatriots who have fled to Belarus, Moldova, the three Baltic states and European Union, a senior official of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. Its safe to say you have over a million people now displaced as a result of the conflict, internally and externally together, Vincent Cochetel, director of the UNHCRs bureau for Europe, told reporters in Geneva. I mean 260,000 in Ukraine, its a low estimate, 814,000 in Russia, then you add the rest ... Belarus, Moldova, the European Union. Of 814,000 Ukrainian nationals who have entered Russia this year, 260,000 have applied for some sort of protective status, he said. The remaining 554,000 have arrived on the basis of a visa-free regime allowing them to stay up to 270 days, he added. We see them arriving sometimes by foot, by bus, by motorcycle, said Cochetel, recently returned from the region. Within Ukraine, most people displaced by earlier fighting have returned to areas retaken by Kievs army, Cochetel said. In terms of the ongoing fighting, in Donetsk, Luhansk and in the south of Donetsk oblast (district), we very concerned about risk of further exodus, Cochetel said. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres is very concerned about the risk of further displacement of major proportion in that part of the country, he said. Guterres said in a statement: If this crisis is not quickly stopped, it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences, but it also has the potential to destabilise the whole region. In all, 4,106 Ukrainians have applied for asylum in EU countries led by Poland, Germany and Sweden, UNHCR figures show. Some 380 Ukrainians have sought asylum in Belarus, but many more have gone to the former Soviet republic, it said. We have reached 20,000 for residence permits in Belarus, the authorities dont want to call them refugees, they have asked us not to call them refugees because we dont know what will happen to those people in the future. But thats the visible tip of the iceberg. We believe there are more people in Moldova, he said. Source : Al-Jazeera By Mohamed Naser ( https://facebook/NaazHack ) Mohamed Media ( mohamedmedia.in )
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 07:13:12 +0000
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