Crimea, Syria & other topics - Daily Briefing (26 November 2018)

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
Daily Press Briefing:

- Middle East
- Syria
- South Sudan
- Ebola
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council is currently meeting on the Ukraine. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Rosemary Di Carlo, just briefed the members. She said that a regrettable security incident took place yesterday in Crimea, involving three Ukrainian vessels and one Russian vessel near the Kerch Strait, and she noted the Ukrainian and Russian accounts of that incident.
Ms. Di Carlo reiterated the UN’s call for all parties to avoid unilateral steps. Regrettably, she said, yesterday’s incident only causes the tensions to escalate further. At this juncture, she said, the immediate de-escalation of tensions at the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea are required.

SYRIA
The Secretary-General is following very closely the reports of alleged use of chemical weapons in Aleppo against civilians. Any confirmed use of such weapons, by any party in the conflict under any circumstances, is abhorrent and a clear violation of international law.
Today, a report on children and armed conflict in Syria says that parties to the conflict in that country exhibited a blatant disregard for the life and fundamental rights of children. The report documents grave violations committed against boys and girls between 16 November 2013 and the end of June 2018.
“The report describes deeply disturbing violence against children, committed in a climate of widespread impunity,” said Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

SOMALIA
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative there, Nicholas Haysom, strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in the city of Galkayo and in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, which killed a prominent cleric and a number of other civilians.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the early morning attack on a compound belonging to cleric Abdiweli Ali Elmi of Galkayo. Later, in the early afternoon, a car bomb reportedly detonated in a busy market in Mogadishu.
In a statement, Mr. Haysom extended his condolences to the bereaved, and said the UN stands with the people and government of Somalia in their rejection of terrorism.
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