UN calls for unimpeded access to 4.6 million Syrians ahead of 5th anniversary of conflict

As Syrian conflict drags on for nearly five years, 4.6 million Syrians are still stuck in places that few can leave and aid cannot reach, said a UN spokesman at Friday's daily briefing.

"After five years of a brutal and senseless conflict, more than a quarter of a million Syrians have been killed and over half the population has been forced from their homes out of fear and want," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, citing a statement issued by various UN humanitarian agencies.

At the same time, Dujarric pointed out there have been "fragile glimmers of hope" in the past few weeks.

"Fewer bombs are falling; humanitarian access has opened up in some places; negotiators from all sides are preparing to come together and talk," he said.

Through regular aid and the recent deliveries to besieged towns, humanitarian workers have managed to reach over six million people since the beginning of 2016, he added.

However, until all parties to this conflict stop attacking civilians, schools, markets and hospitals, the humanitarian agencies will continue to press them on their obligations and hold them to account, said the statement.

The statement calls on parties to the conflict to fully open up safe, unimpeded access to everyone and calls for the political talks to bring real peace and an end to the suffering in Syria.

On Monday, the substantive discussions related to the Intra-Syrian Talks are scheduled to begin at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The conflicts started on March 15, 2011, when anti-government protests inspired by the Arab Spring erupted, and later descended into a grinding civil war. Endit