You're reading: UNHCR: Chemical disaster fear in Eastern Ukraine

GENEVA – A United Nations human rights expert is warning against the threat of catastrophic chemical disaster due to the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

“Large chemical and industrial facilities are in areas where fighting is ongoing”, said Baskut Tuncak, the Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes. “Battles are now being fought in cities, close to industrial centres, with factories increasingly becoming at risk of being hit: the consequences for anyone living close-by would be severe”.

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