UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Thursday sought humanitarian aid access for tens of thousands of people fleeing conflict, with their plight worsened by the setting in of colder weather, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The spokesman said the UN refugee agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has warned that civilians are in harm's way, and the situation is worsened by colder weather that is setting in across the region.
On Wednesday, Turkey announced the beginning of a military campaign in northern Syria.
"UNHCR stresses the urgency to have unfettered humanitarian access to reach those newly displaced and assist them," Haq told reporters at a regular briefing.
Henrietta Fore, executive director of the UN children's agency UNICEF, urged all parties to protect children and the civilian infrastructure on which they depend, in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas causes unacceptable harm to children, she said.
UNICEF, also calling for access to those in need, said that fighting in the region would have dramatic consequences on the ability of humanitarians to provide assistance and protection to thousands of boys and girls.
Virginia Gamba, the secretary-general's special representative for children and armed conflict, called for restraint in the conflict, adding that the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as the recruitment and use of children are among the most severe children's rights violations in Syria.
Undersecretary-General Mark Lowcock, the UN emergency relief coordinator, is already in Turkey, on a visit that was planned before announcement of the incursion was made, the spokesman said.
Lowcock's two-day visit in Turkey is focused on cross-border aid operations from Turkey into Syria, Haq said. "Of course, Lowcock has been closely following the developments in northeast Syria. He is very concerned about the impact that military operations may have on civilians in the affected areas."
Lowcock had constructive discussions, including at Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Ankara, and will go to Gaziantep, Turkey, on Friday where he will meet with humanitarian partners involved in cross-border aid into Syria, the spokesman said.
The coordinator is also scheduled to visit a center supporting education, women's empowerment and psycho-social support for Syrians, Haq said.
While UN agencies called for humanitarian access in the face of the reported Turkish incursion, diplomats at UN headquarters sought means to stop fighting, holding Security Council consultations, but no agreement was reached on how to bring the conflict to a halt.
