UN officials call for unimpeded humanitarian access in Syria

UN officials on Thursday called for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach those in need in hard-to-reach and besieged areas in Syria.

"We are particularly concerned about the plight of nearly 400,000 people besieged by parties to the conflict in locations such as Deir Ez-Zor city, Daraya, Foah and Kefraya, as well as besieged areas of East Ghouta," Yacoub El Hillo, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, and Kevin Kennedy, regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, said in a joint statement.

Statistics showed that up to 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need.

However, only 10 percent of all requests for UN inter-agency convoys to hard-to-reach and besieged areas were approved and delivered.

The two officials noted the ongoing conflict continued to hamper the humanitarian response, and freedom of movement was restricted by the presence of armed actors and land mines.

They welcomed the approval of the Syrian government to access Madaya, Foah and Kefraya, adding the UN was preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days.

International humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians. It also prohibits the starvation of civilians as a tactic of war. The UN calls for immediate humanitarian access to all hard-to-reach and besieged areas and for the facilitation of safe evacuation of civilians, they said.

With the meditation of United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, representatives of the Syrian government and the broadest possible spectrum of the Syrian opposition are to meet on Jan. 25 in Geneva to engage in political negotiation. Endit