Syria's repeated obstruction of aid convoys to the besieged Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus might be considered a war crime, UN rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday.

"Impeding humanitarian assistance to civilians in desperate need may amount to a war crime," Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.

Rebels control swathes of Yarmuk, but for months Syrian government forces have imposed a suffocating siege on the camp, where some 20,000 Palestinians live despite terrible shortages.

"Government forces and affiliated militias appear to be imposing collective punishment on the civilians in Yarmuk," Pillay said.

Over the past four months, numerous attempts by the UN and other organisations to bring convoys of food and medical aid to Yarmuk have been thwarted, while very little aid was getting through for the nine months prior to that, she noted.

"Civilians, including many women and children, are caught in a quagmire between besieging Syrian government forces and affiliated militias surrounding the Yarmuk camp, as well as anti-government armed groups operating inside," Pillay said.

She pointed to repeated reports of deaths from starvation, from the consumption of rotten food, and because of the chronic shortage of medical supplies and expertise.

The camp-dwellers also have to deal with severe water shortages, a lack of power, plus ongoing fighting and sporadic aerial attacks.

"The extent of malnutrition, and the numbers who have died directly or indirectly because of it, are not known for sure," Pillay said.

"But it is crystal clear that the situation in Yarmuk is now extremely desperate, and that civilians are dying as a result," she added.

The laws of war prohibit the starvation of civilians as a method of combat, as well as banning attacks on food stocks or drinking water installations, among other things considered indispensable to the survival of the population.

Pillay also protested that aid convoys had come under fire, saying that intentional attacks against humanitarian personnel and supplied were also a war crime.

"All parties to the conflict must urgently facilitate unimpeded access to humanitarian relief to the civilians trapped in Yarmuk, before more children die," she said.

"In addition, immediate action needs to be taken to ensure safe passage for all those civilians wishing to leave," she added.

More than 160,000 Palestinian refugees lived in Yarmuk until December 2012, when the vast majority fled after armed opposition groups entered the camp and government forces attacked.

Small groups were also subsequently allowed out by surrounding Government forces, or managed to escape.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has been unable to deliver any assistance since September last year, with the single exception of a delivery of 2,000 doses of polio vaccines in December, Pillay's office said.

Italy moves to reassure over Syria chemical shipment
Rome (AFP) Jan 17, 2014 –

The Italian government on Friday moved to reassure concerned citizens over a shipment of deadly Syrian chemical agents slated for destruction which is due to arrive in the southern port of Gioia Tauro within weeks.

Letta has called a meeting with the governor of the Calabria region where Gioia Tauro is located, along with two local mayors and port authorities to detail the operation, the government said in a statement.

A spokesperson said the meeting was planned for Monday.

Following an uproar over the choice of port for the trans-loading operation onto a US ship, which was announced on Thursday, governor Giuseppe Scopelliti said he was faced with the risk of a "civil war".

But the government said the 60 containers expected fell under a category of dangerous substances that Gioia Tauro has already handled without any problems.

The statement said 3,048 containers with the same classification of toxic substances had transited through Gioia Tauro between 2012 and 2013.

"The trans-loading can be carried out in a timeline of between 10 and 24 hours," it said, although the UN-linked world chemical watchdog overseeing the operation has said it could last up to 48 hours.

The US ship, the MV Cape Ray, is still in the United States and is due to depart for Italy this or next week to pick up the chemical agents and destroy them in international waters using hydrolysis equipment.

The materials are the deadliest in Syria's 1,290-tonne declared chemical arsenal and include mustard gas and the ingredients for the nerve agents sarin and VX.

The arsenal is planned to be destroyed by June 30.