johnny asia

Sunday, 23 July 2006, 12:01 GMT 13:01 UK

UN appalled by Beirut devastation


The UN's Jan Egeland has condemned the devastation caused by Israeli air
strikes in Beirut, saying it is a violation of humanitarian law.

Mr Egeland, the UN's emergency relief chief, described the destruction as
"horrific" as he toured the city.

He arrived hours after another Israeli strike on Beirut. Israel also hit
Sidon, a port city in the south crammed with refugees, for the first time.

The BBC News website's Raffi Berg visited the scene of one of the rocket
attacks in northern Haifa.

He says the rocket exploded next to a carriageway, raking passing cars with
shrapnel and ball bearings. A man in a nearby vehicle was killed outright,
his car left looking as if it had been sprayed with machine gun fire.

'Block after block'

Mr Egeland arrived in southern Beirut on Sunday just hours after Israeli
strikes, and the ruins of high-rise apartment blocks were still smouldering.


Images of destruction in Beirut

In pictures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/middle_east_beirut_destruction/html/1.stm


A visibly moved Mr Egeland expressed shock that "block after block" of
buildings had been levelled.

"It makes it a violation of humanitarian law," he said.

Mr Egeland appealed for both sides to put a halt to attacks.

He said UN supplies of humanitarian aid would begin to arrive in the next
few days.

"But we need safe access," he said. "So far Israel is not giving us access."

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"It is even probable that the supremacy of nations
may be determined by the possession of available
petroleum and its products." - President Coolidge,
We Fight for Oil, Ludwell Denny - Alfred A Knopf, 1928

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

"Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their
dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens."
- William H. Beveridge, 1944

"The power of accurate observation is called cynicism
by those who have not got it." - G. B. Shaw

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http://www.angelfire.com/co/COMMONSENSE/wakeup.html

The Rise and Fall of the Holy Roller Empire
http://www.angelfire.com/co/COMMONSENSE/armageddon.html

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kavik kang

So is everyone else... isn't it terrible what Hezbollah has done?

reniggade

Hezbollah did all that?