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Humanitarian access to Syrian civilians expected "without delay": official

Xinhua, February 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Senior Advisor to the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Jan Egeland said Friday that access to Syrian populations living in besieged and hard-to-reach areas is expected to be granted imminently.

"We have already submitted requests for access to the parties surrounding besieged areas," said Egeland, who chaired on Friday the first meeting of the Task Force on Humanitarian Access in Syria in line with the agreement reached by International Syria Support Group (ISSG) members Thursday.

"We expect to get such access without delay. Finally, the civilians who have been deprived of their basic right of humanitarian access for so long, will have hope. Let us not fail them," he added.

The first of two gatherings between representatives of ISSG members, Friday's meeting aimed to determine how best to ensure that immediate access is granted to those in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Syria.

"In order to accelerate the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid, sustained delivery of assistance is expected to begin this week to besieged areas where civilians are in desperate need of assistance," a statement released by Office of the Special Envoy for Syria read.

"Humanitarian access to these most urgent areas will be a first step toward full, sustained, and unimpeded access throughout the country," it added.

An estimated 4.5 million people in Syria live in areas that are hard to reach for the humanitarian community. Enditem