UN calls on European countries to protect refugees from freezing to death & abuse

 At least five refugees have reportedly perished from exposure in a European cold snap since the beginning of the year amid reports of police violence against asylum seekers, including confiscation of phones and clothing, the UN’s refugee agency reported.


On Friday at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Cecile Pouilly, expressed grave concern over the reported death of asylum seekers who were “trying to enter or move across Europe” amid harsh winter conditions.

The bodies of two Iraqi men who had apparently died from exposure and exhaustion were found last Friday in southeastern Bulgaria near its border with Turkey.

In addition, a young Somali woman was found dead in the same region, while two teenagers who had been accompanying her were taken to the hospital with frostbite.

The group was found after spending five days in a forest in extreme cold, the UN official said.
 [rt.com]
14/1/17