The Iran war is causing ” profound” impact on civilians in the region, the UN Refugee Agency chief Barham Salih told Euronews’ flagship show Europe Today.
The situation is “very dire” and around “600,000 to a million households in Iran” have already been affected, with “more than a million people” displaced in Lebanon, he added.
“The region cannot afford these cycles of violence,” he said. “Human lives are at stake,” added Salih, who insists that what the Middle East needs is peace.
Salih said the war poses a “terrible humanitarian challenge” and is “highly destabilising” for the region.
Lebanon, where Israeli forces continue striking Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, already has the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.
According to data from UNHCR, Lebanon hosts around 1.3 million Syrian refugees as well as smaller communities of Iraqi, Sudanese and other nationalities. Of those, only around 130,000 returned to Syria.
However, Salih stressed that the movement is not “voluntary…. they are returning under adverse conditions”.
The conflict is now “escalating” but for now “most of the displacement is between the countries”, said Salih. The UN doesn’t see “significant movements across borders”.
Salih also hopes for Pakistan’s offer to hold peace talks between Iran and the United States. “Let’s hope it puts some useful, tangible peace agreement,” said the UN representative.
“We need a durable and just peace that will not put us in a place where six months from now or a year from now we will have another recurrence of this”, said Salih.
On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned Israel against a military operation in southern Lebanon.
Israel announced it plans to take control of a part of southern Lebanon, reaching the Litani river, to establish a buffer zone against Hezbollah.
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