UN concerned by continued fighting in Syria's Aleppo: spokesman

The United Nations is concerned by the ongoing hostilities in Aleppo city in north Syria, and "indiscriminate shelling reportedly continues to cause displacement in western Aleppo," with 15,000 internally displaced people registered in recent days, a UN spokesman told reporters here Friday.

"The eastern part of the city remains inaccessible to humanitarian workers, where an estimated 275,000 people remain trapped under horrific conditions," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here. "Food and health stocks are running dangerously low in the city."

The UN has not been able to reach the eastern part of the city since July.

"The United Nations urges all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations, to put an end to indiscriminate bombing and shelling, to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to enable urgent humanitarian life-saving assistance, as required under international humanitarian and human rights law," he said.

Aleppo is witnessing the most intense shelling and clashes since the conflict began there four years ago, following a major offensive the rebels had waged in late October, reports said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based watchdog group, said that the rebels were heavily using the Grad missiles in their attacks on western Aleppo.

Following their offensive, the rebels, including ultra-radical ones, advanced into the government-controlled area of Assad Suburb in western Aleppo, in their push to break the siege imposed by the Syrian army on rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo. Endit