UN warns of "toxic rain" danger from oil depot strikes in Mideast

GENEVA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians said on Tuesday that 10 days of war in the Middle East are upending lives across the region and beyond, with toxic "black rain" linked to strikes on oil depots, and disruption to humanitarian supply chains causing widespread impacts.

Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, raised concerns about the health and environmental impacts of Israeli and U.S. strikes on oil depots in Iran as toxic pollutants spread in the air.

She said that these impacts raise "serious questions as to whether the proportionality and precaution obligations under international humanitarian law were met" in the attacks, stressing that the sites hit "do not appear to be of military exclusive usage."

Christian Lindmeier, the World Health Organization spokesperson, warned that the "black rain" and "acidic rain" that have been falling in Tehran after the strikes are "indeed a danger" for Iranians.

"We are in touch with the hospitals and with the authorities, and the Iranian authorities have issued an alert advising people to stay indoors, in light of the attacks on oil warehouses especially," he said.

Lindmeier added that reported strikes on oil infrastructures in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia also raised concerns of "wider regional pollution exposure."

Karolina Lindholm Billing, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) representative in Lebanon, said more than 100,00 people have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people uprooted by the conflict to almost 700,000.

"We see cars lined along the street with people sleeping in them," she said. "Most fled in a rush with almost nothing. They're seeking safety in Beirut, the Mount Lebanon region, in northern Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa."

Jean-Martin Bauer, director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s Food and Nutrition Analysis Service, warned of the impacts of the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and in the Bab El-Mandeb strait off the coast of the Horn of Africa.

"Two key points of the global supply chain set-up are affected by restrictions and by risk, and shipping lines are diverting their services," Bauer said, adding that the need for war risk insurance for shipments means an additional cost of 2,000 to 4,000 U.S. dollars for each container in areas that are at risk. ■