Red Cross finds 5,000 Syrian refugees near Houla

DHAKA: More than 5,000 displaced Syrians, mostly women and children without food or water, have been found by a joint Red Cross-Red Crescent team close to the site of the weekend massacre in Houla.

‘Being freshly displaced from their homes, the people had almost nothing to sustain themselves’ when found in the village of Burj al-Qa’i, Sean Maguire, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said Wednesday.

‘People were worried, uncertain of their future and felt unsafe’, reports Bloomberg.

The ICRC and the Syrian Red Crescent workers left food, water, mattresses and some medical supplies before leaving the refugees Tuesday ‘in schools, or with local families, or wherever they can find shelter.’

The news came as Japan and Turkey today joined allies around the world in expelling Syrian diplomats and expressing revulsion at events in Houla.

BDST: 1957 HRS, MAY 30, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor