JAF, IRCRC inaugurate meeting on humanitarian considerations for built-up area combat

AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on Monday inaugurated the annual consultation meeting for the Middle East on humanitarian considerations for combat in built-up areas.

The four-day meeting sees the participation of the armed forces of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Switzerland, Rwanda and Uganda, in addition to NATO, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

JAF Assistant for Operations and Training Brig. Gen. Abdullah Shdeifat said that combat in built-up areas poses several challenges for both attack and defence forces due to several factors, the most important of which is the presence of civilians, which necessitates military forces to take humanitarian considerations into account.

Shdeifat said that such meetings have “great importance” in facilitating the exchange of expertise and benefitting from participants’ experiences in the efforts to preserve lives and assets.

Sarah Avrillaud, head of the ICRC Delegation in Jordan, said that armed conflicts in built-up areas and cities increase the chances of “horrendous consequences” for civilians, where estimates show that some 50 million people around the world are affected by these conflicts.

Avrillaud added that limiting the impact of war on civilians requires an immediate change “in the mindset and current conditions”, in addition to advanced guidelines to increase the level of respect to international humanitarian law. International humanitarian law states that parties to any conflict must reconsider the ways of conflict and use of weapons, and putting protecting civilians as a priority, while also planning their policies, practices, education and training.

The ICRC also discussed the “War in Cities and Humanitarian Repercussions” guidebook, which is directed to leaders of military operations that were translated into seven languages and were issued by the ICRC following intensified research that saw the participation of several officers from many armies.