Stranded Syrians Appeal for Drinking Water
Refugees camped on the border between Jordan and Syria say they are running out of water.
The Press Association said 64,000 Syrians waiting to be admitted to Jordan have been cut off from some aid supplies after Jordan closed the area following a deadly terror attack on one of its military posts.
Footage taken on a mobile phone showed refugees chanting, “We want water.” Three residents of the Rakban camp told the Associated Press by phone that people have begun drinking polluted water.
There have been conflicting reports as to whether any water has been delivered to the refugees stranded in the desert area. International aid officials in Jordan’s capital, Amman, said on June 22 that the border area was sealed and that they couldn’t send aid there.
The border area was the last entry point for Syrians fleeing the civil war but was sealed after a deadly suicide car-bomb attack on June 21, which Jordan has blamed on ISIS.
Nigerians Fleeing Boko Haram Starve to Death
Nearly 200 Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram have died of starvation and dehydration in the northeastern town of Bama.
A team from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was able to reach Bama on June 21 and found 24,000 people taking refuge amid desperate conditions in a hospital compound.
Bama is 43 miles (70km) from Maiduguri, the regional center of Nigerian operations against the Islamic militant group Boko Haram. Fighting has prevented farmers from planting crops and sent tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes.
The medical charity said a “catastrophic humanitarian emergency” was unfolding and found refugees who “speak of children dying of hunger and digging new graves every day.”
Migrant Smugglers Switching to Sealed Trucks to Bypass E.U.
There is an upsurge in attempts to smuggle migrants into the E.U. in sealed trucks, according to police in Austria. Two cases involving a total of 10 people have been discovered this week using trucks from two countries.
A truck from Bosnia was found to be holding four Pakistanis and an Afghani as it approached the border with Slovenia, and five Iraqis were discovered in a Turkish truck in the same area. In both cases the drivers alerted authorities after hearing noises.
Austrian police said that sealed trucks are typically opened only on arrival at their final destination, so are being used to circumvent the February closure of land borders.
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