UN relief wing appalled by upsurge in violence in north Syrian city

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said they are appalled by the brutal upsurge in violence and relentless bombardment in eastern Aleppo in north Syria in recent weeks, a UN spokesman told reporters here Wednesday.

Some 275,000 civilians there remain trapped, including more than 100,000 children, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Today, the Office has received reports of an attack on a food market in the Al-Ferdous area of eastern Aleppo, which has resulted in dozens of casualties and injuries," the spokesman said.

"The UN Office once again calls for an end to the fighting and for the parties to cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in line with international legal obligations," he said.

The UN and its partners are ready to provide urgently needed assistance to the trapped population as soon as the situation allows, he said.

Also on Wednesday, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) deplored the Tuesday attack on a primary school in the Syrian city of Daraa which killed five children between the ages of four and 16 and also injured 15 other children.

UNICEF said that the conflict in Syria has plummeted to such lows that children are now risking their lives just to attend school. Endit