"At the moment it's not clear that civilians have been significantly impacted by large night's military action. We obviously are concerned about potential escalation and impact that it can have on civilians … We would be concerned of further military action and escalation by any side in the conflict, and we really engage everyone to try to refrain from escalation and to work to a political solution," the charity's senior policy adviser on Syria, Matthew Hemsley said.
He noted that there were over 6 million internally displaced people in Syria and said Oxfam had "no doubt we will see more in the future." He also talked about his visit to the Herjalleh camp, which is located to the south of Damascus.
"I went to the camp in Herjalleh on Thursday, which is just south of Damascus, which is where lots of people have fled having left Eastern Ghouta. There are about 14,500 people in that camp, although there are around 45,000 people in shelters overall, there are seven other shelters in that part of rural Damascus and Eastern Ghouta," Hemsley said.
On Saturday, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom launched 105 missiles on a number of targets in Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack in Douma, located in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. The Syrian government has denied the accusations of chemical weapons use and said that the Jaish al-Islam terror group staged an attack to justify potential foreign intervention in Syria.
