“We remain concerned about the situation of civilians in the area of conflict,” the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

“Access to the area is not possible for humanitarian agencies, and conditions of those who do not make it across to Uganda are unclear. It takes refugees from the Kamango area around 12 hours to walk to the Ugandan border.”

Tens of thousands of refugees first began pouring into western Uganda after fighting erupted between Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group, and DRC national troops (FARDC) in Kamango on 11 July. The Bubukwanga transit centre, which is some 25 kilometres inland from the border, is now home to over 15,000 refugees, 60 per cent of whom are under the age of 18.

“Our site planner has now assessed that this is its maximum capacity, even though the previous estimates had indicated that it could house 25,000,” Edwards said.

“Many refugees brought their animals with them from DRC and are sleeping in their tents with their ducks and goats, increasing the risk of disease in the transit centre. The emergency response will be shifting its focus on decongesting the transit centre as of this week,” he added.

The Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister has pledged to begin electronic registration using biometrics by the end of the week so they can quickly begin moving refugees – if they wish – to the Kyangwali refugee settlement for longer term protection and assistance. There they will be given plots of land to farm, as well as basic household items, Edwards said.

UNHCR staff at Bubukwanga have also been checking for cases of sexual and gender-based violence among vulnerable people arriving in the camp. Mr. Edwards said they have found no evidence so far, but added that the agency and its partners are still considering sending experts on the issue, as well as on child protection to the camp.

Meanwhile, the agency reported that fighting between Government forces and the armed group known as M23 has continued in the North Kivu capital, Goma, with no signs of ending.

When the latest round of fighting erupted last week, some 660 civilians fled to neighbouring Rwanda and about 4,200 people sought shelter at schools and churches in Goma. There has been no sign of further mass displacement, UNHCR said.

Fighting between Government forces and armed groups in Jonglei has displaced thousands of civilians since January. The UN and its partners have had access to most of the 1.5 million people in the area, but were unable until this week to reach a couple of the villages from which people fled and were hiding in the bush.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, said that expanded access for aid agencies in Pibor County has allowed for the assessment of the needs of up to 25,000 civilians who have fled recent fighting.

“I am particularly concerned that some children show signs of measles, a fatal disease in such conditions,” he said in a statement.

UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have a joint team on the ground and are providing medical assistance, water purification tablets and plastic sheeting.

“Civilians stranded in the bush need not only peace and security, but also freedom of movement so that they can access services,” he added. “Basic services can be provided by humanitarian organizations, assuming that all parties ensure unhindered and continuous access, as well as an environment which is safe and welcoming for non-governmental organizations and UN agencies.”

Lanzer had called the access gained earlier this week a “significant breakthrough.” With the rainy season started and expected to last through December, the basic concerns of the families in the area are staying dry and warm, food and medical needs.

South Sudan, which marked its second independence anniversary earlier this month, has been plagued by sporadic ethnic violence as well as a border conflict with Sudan.

Reports suggest serious clashes over the last days have led to a number of casualties, including civilian deaths, according to a statement issued by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

“At the same time as this new fighting has broken out, contacts are underway to put together an inclusive process to defuse tensions. The details are being worked out,” said Nicholas Kay, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNSOM.

“This is not the time to engage in violence which will entrench positions and make it all the harder to achieve a settlement and begin reconciliation,” he added.

“I call on all parties to refrain from any action which could be seen as a provocation, and call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.”

Following clashes earlier this month in Kismayo, the Security Council called on all parties to refrain from any action which may threaten peace and stability in the Juba regions and to engage with the Somali Government in a constructive manner to achieve a peaceful resolution to the current crisis.

Council members also welcomed the Government’s commitment to lead reconciliation efforts in the Juba regions, and underlined the availability of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to assist in peacefully resolving the situation.

UNSOM, which began operations at the beginning of this month, is tasked by the Council with supporting the Horn of Africa nation as it seeks to build on hard-won gains achieved last year and emerge from over two decades of strife.

“I urge all parties to commit to resolve differences peacefully. I deplore reports of the loss of civilian life,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, declared in a press statement.

According to unconfirmed reports, clashes that flared in Kismaayo yesterday reignited today. Through his statement, Mr. Kay called for the fighting to cease immediately. “This new chapter in Somalia’s history must be one in which issues are resolved peacefully.”

More violence will only prolong the suffering of Somalis and delay the revival they and the international community are working for, the statement added.

Kay, who took up his post just five days ago, noted that the UNSOM, as the UN Security Council recently reiterated, will play a constructive role in resolving political difficulties of any kind in close consultation with all parties in Somalia and the region. “I am engaging immediately on this issue.”

The statement says that the Mission chief discussed his concerns with Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, during their first official meeting in Mogadishu, where UNSOM is headquartered.

They both called for the convening of a reconciliation conference as soon as possible, as IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State have proposed.

In a statement earlier today, his spokesperson said Ban is “following with the gravest concern” the situation in Qusayr, where fighting has intensified in recent days. Ban reminded the Government of its responsibility to protect civilians who come under its control, including from the threat of militias. He also called on the warring parties to allow trapped civilians to flee.

In a separate statement later in the day, Amos and Pillay said they were “extremely alarmed” by reports that there as many as 1,500 wounded people in the city in urgent need of immediate evacuation for emergency medical treatment.

“The general situation in Qusayr is desperate,” Amos and Pillay said based on information they are receiving. This includes “reports that civilian neighbourhoods continue to be indiscriminately attacked, and that other major violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are being committed,” according to the statement.

In addition to urging a halt to any actions that threaten civilian lives, the two senior officials reminded the Government and other parties to the conflict that they have an obligation under international human rights and international humanitarian law to protect civilians and allow neutral, impartial humanitarian organizations safe access to all people in need.

“We urge the parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian agencies to evacuate the wounded and provide life-saving treatment and supplies,” they said in the statement.

While it is not known how many people remain trapped in Qusayr, more than ten thousand have already fled to towns in the region including Hasiya and Al-Dumina, where they have sought temporary shelter in schools and unfinished buildings.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said yesterday at least 700 families – or some 3,500 people – have arrived to Hasiya, a small nearby town with a population of 16,000. They urgently need food, bedding, clean water and medical care.

The siege comes as preparations intensify for an international conference on Syria.

Ban “reminds all parties to the conflict that the eyes of the world are upon them, and that they will be held accountable for any acts of atrocity carried out against the civilian population of Qusayr,” his spokesperson said in the statement.

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.

Intense shelling and clashes between Government forces and supporting militias and anti-Government armed groups have reportedly resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries in and around Qusayr, a town near the Lebanese border. Hundreds of families are said to have fled the area over the last month as efforts to capture the town have intensified.

During an urgent debate held in Geneva, the 47-member Council adopted a resolution in which it called on the Syria authorities “to meet their responsibility to protect the Syrian population and to put an immediate end to all attacks against the civilians of Al Qusayr.”

The text, adopted by a vote of 36 in favour to 1 against (Venezuela) with 8 abstentions, also condemned the intervention of foreign combatants fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime in Qusayr, and voiced deep concern that their involvement poses a “serious threat” to regional stability.

Addressing the Council prior to the adoption of the measure, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that the situation in Syria reflects a “colossal failure” to protect civilians.

“Day after day, children, women and men suffer the brutality of unbridled violence and gross human rights violations by all parties,” she stated. “The increasing number of foreign fighters crossing Syria’s borders to support one side or the other is further fuelling the sectarian violence, and the situation is beginning to show worrying signs of destabilizing the region as a whole.”

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.

“The conflict in Syria is spinning out of control,” warned Ms. Pillay, who called for immediate action to stop further bloodshed and suffering. “The solution must be political. It will not be military,” she added.

In the run-up to the proposed international conference on Syria to be held next month in Geneva, Ms. Pillay called on “States with influence to pull the parties back from the brink of catastrophe.”

Speaking to reporters in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “active talks” are under way regarding the proposed Geneva conference. However, there are still many decisions that need to be made, including agreement on a date for the meeting, as well as agreement among the opposition as to their representation.

While he was not in a position to announce when the meeting will take place, Mr. Ban declared: “we are committed to [convening] it.”

Regarding reports that the Lebanese group Hizbollah had stepped up its activities in Syria, he said that the UN is very much concerned that other actors have entered the fighting. He strongly urged all fighting to stop immediately so that a political process could begin.

Ban said he had been urging all parties with influence – on both sides – to call for an end to the fighting.

“Providing arms to either side will not help: there is no military solution [and] the only sustainable resolution will be through political means,” he said, adding that he had “taken note” of the European Union’s decision to lift its arms embargo in Syria.

Ban also reiterated his call for a political solution in a message to the consultative meeting on Syria that was held today in Tehran. “Syria is disintegrating before our eyes. The chaos is creating fertile ground for radicalism and increasingly threatens regional stability,” he said in the message, which was delivered by the UN Resident Coordinator in Iran, Gary Lewis.

Ban noted the efforts by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry to bring the Syrian parties to the negotiating table. “These talks are the best opportunity we have had in nearly a year for a negotiated solution. The challenges ahead are formidable but we cannot afford to miss this opportunity.”

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the acknowledged increased participation in the fighting in Syria by Hizbollah, as well as by the risk of spillover in Lebanon, which has witnessed growing tension over the past week,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement. “All in the region should act responsibly and work towards lowering rhetoric and calming tensions in the region.”

According to media reports, two rockets hit a Hizbollah-run area in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Sunday, a day after the Lebanese group’s leader pledged to keep supporting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

“The Secretary-General reiterates the paramount importance of preventing a dangerous spillover of the conflict across borders,” the statement said. “He believes that strict adherence to the Baabda Declaration will help preserve Lebanon’s stability and security, and calls on all Lebanese leaders and parties to renew their commitment to it and keep Lebanon safe from conflict.”

The Baabda Declaration, which was issued during a National Dialogue meeting in June 2012, calls for keeping Lebanon neutral from regional tensions and crises. The Declaration is named after the Baabda Presidential Palace, where the meeting was held.

In the statement, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said the Secretary-General has consistently opposed the transfer of arms and fighters from outside Syria to either side inside the country and has repeatedly urged respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region.

“As preparations are ongoing for the international conference on Syria, the Secretary-General urges all countries, organizations and groups immediately to cease supporting the violence inside Syria and instead to use their influence to promote a political solution to Syria’s tragedy.”

Mr. Ban also reiterated that protecting civilians must be a priority and urged all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust Mr. Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.

“We are very concerned about the large number of casualties, reportedly including many civilians, and massive destruction of houses and property, as well as displacement that has taken place in over the past few weeks in north-eastern Nigeria,” the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, told journalists in Geneva.

“We call on the Government to make sure its efforts to achieve security are in full compliance with human rights principles,” he added, also urging security forces and the military to respect human rights, and avoid excessive use of force when conducting operations, as the patrols stoked local resentment, especially when civilians were killed or had their property damaged.

The renewed calls are a response to incidents in Baga, a town on the shores of Lake Chad in which fighting erupted overnight on 16 April and continued for days. OHCHR said the fighting was spurred by the killing of a soldier on a military patrol by the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram which is based in the State.

Colville said that OHCHR welcomes President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to hold accountable all those involved in the human rights violations perpetrated during the Baga attack, and urges the Nigerian government to carry out a “full and impartial investigation”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said immediately after the attack that he was “shocked and saddened” by the civilian casualties and called all concerned to fully respect human rights and protect civilians.

“We repeat our calls for concerted efforts to tackle the causes of the repeated outbreaks of violence in the north east of Nigeria and to put an end the cycle of violence and deadly reprisal attacks,” Mr. Colville said.

As part of an overall effort to stem the violence with means other than force, President Jonathan has established a Committee to work out modalities for an amnesty and compensation for victims, as well as to open talks with Boko Haram. OHCHR today said it welcomes the establishment of the Committee as an “important step.”

The Office urged, however, that perpetrators of serious human rights violations, including by Boko Haram elements and members of the security forces, are held accountable and that amnesties are not granted to anyone responsible for very serious violations.

Boko Haram has reportedly been responsible for kidnappings, killings and drive-by motorbike assassinations of civilians and politicians, members of government institutions, security forces and foreign nationals.

Last year, over 100 people were killed when the radical group attacked churches in Kaduna State, drawing widespread condemnation from the UN.

According to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MONUSCO), fighting between the DRC armed forces (FARDC) and the Alliance des Patriotes pour un Congo Libre et Souverain (APCLS) on Friday killed some 11 APCLS combatants and injured one FARDC soldier.

Since fighting first began in February, tens of civilians have been killed, including a humanitarian worker, hundreds have been wounded and thousands have been displaced. Thousands who have fled the violence have sought refuge around the UN peacekeeping base in Kitchanga.

MONUSCO said that following the fighting on Friday, the mission has provided protection to about 1,500 civilians.

“The situation is reported to be calm at present but the UN mission continues to monitor the situation and patrol the area,” UN spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told reporters in New York.

MONUSCO is tasked with supporting the Congolese authorities in their stabilization and peace consolidation efforts, including assisting with the holding of elections, the monitoring of human rights violations and support for Government action against armed groups operating in the east of the country.

The UN Security Council last week strengthened MONUSCO’s capacity by authorizing the deployment of an intervention brigade that will carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the Congolese national army, against armed groups that threaten peace in the eastern part of DRC.

“Children in the Central African Republic were some of the most vulnerable in Africa even before the recent upsurge in fighting,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s Regional Director.

“It is imperative to have full and secure access to communities affected by the conflict. With every lost day, every thwarted delivery and every stolen supply, more children may die,” Mr. Fontaine warned.

The Séléka overran the capital city of Bangui on 24 March, forcing President François Bozizé to flee. The developments were condemned by both Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, which called on all parties in CAR to protect civilians.

This is the latest wave of fighting since December 2012 when the rebel coalition launched a series of attacks, taking control of major towns.

At least 4.1 million people, almost half of whom are children, are now directly affected by the crisis, which includes not being able to attend schools or getting enough to eat, UNICEF estimated in today’s news release. Since December, 1.2 million people have been cut off from essential services.

Earlier in the week, the UN agency said ten metric tonnes of emergency supplies were stolen from its main warehouse. The supplies included water kits, blankets, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting, and essential medicines and nutrition items for 30,000 of the most vulnerable people, specifically children and women, in the coming days and weeks.

“For every day we cannot deliver aid where it’s needed, there is an increased risk of disease and epidemics,” said Souleymane Diabate, UNICEF Central African Republic representative. “How will the Central African Republic ever move forward if essential humanitarian supplies are stolen from the people who need them the most?”

UNICEF reiterated its calls today on all parties in the conflict “to immediately stop the looting of humanitarian supplies, to ensure free and secure access of humanitarian actors to those in need, and to ensure that all involved respect humanitarian principles, human rights and the rule of law.

The time has come for the Séléka coalition “to really demonstrate how committed it is to humanitarian principles and human rights for all Central Africans,” said Mr. Fontaine.

“The needs and rights of children must be the priority for the new Government,” he added.

UN agencies, funds and programmes, including UNICEF, slimmed down their activities in CAR this week due to the insecurity, but still have a presence in the country.