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Fighting displaces over 31,000 people in Syria's Aleppo: UN agencies

Xinhua, December 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Some 31,500 civilians have been displaced within Aleppo since fighting between warring factions escalated on Nov. 24, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported Friday.

Over half (18,000) of those who have been forced to flee their homes have done so to Jibreen, a government-held district of western Aleppo, OCHA indicated in a press briefing here.

A further 8,500 have fled to the Kurdish area of Sheikh Maqsood, while 5,000 have been displaced within east Aleppo which has been under siege for almost five months, the UN body added.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), around 60 percent of those displaced by clashes between Syrian government forces seeking to take over rebel-held eastern districts are children.

Though unable to reach civilians who have not left eastern parts of the war-torn city, the UN said Thursday that it is able to provide much needed food and medical aid to those who have done so.

OCHA also said that the UN had acknowledged a Russian proposal to open four humanitarian corridors servicing east Aleppo.

If safety guarantees are provided by all parties to the conflict and pending discussions with Moscow, the UN hopes to use these corridors to carry out medical evacuations while bringing much needed relief items to east Aleppo.

Once Syria's economic hub, Aleppo has been bitterly contested by the Syrian army and opposition groups since 2012.

According to OCHA, Damascus has regained control of several neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure in east Aleppo, including the Suleiman Al-Halabi water station. Endit