1.8 mln people remain cut from main water source in N. Syria: UN agency

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Syria said that an estimated 1.8 million people in Aleppo remained cut off from their main water source for more than one month due to a technical failure at the Al Khafse water station, a UN spokesman told reporters here Wednesday.

Local water authorities continued with efforts to access and repair the water infrastructure and were able to visit Al Khafse on Monday, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said at a daily news briefing here.

"Residents currently receive a limited water supply through other distribution networks," he said. "The water authorities are operating wells servicing almost one million people while the UN is providing fuel, water trucking, and distributing water purification materials, installing tanks and rehabilitating additional wells in the city."

"The UN continues to call on all parties to the conflict in Syria to ensure technical teams have unrestricted and safe access to water infrastructure in order to swiftly restore the provision of water to the civilian population," Haq said.

"The UN also reminds all parties to the conflict of their responsibility to safeguard civilians and civilian infrastructure, as required by the International Humanitarian Law and the Human Rights Law," he added.

The Syrian army wrested its full control over the entire city of Aleppo since last December, poising for further military operations in the Aleppo province to drive out Islamic State (IS) militants. Thousands of civilians have been displaced due to the intensive fighting.

So far, the chronic Syrian conflict has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced nearly 11 million others. Enditem