UN relief wing worries flooding worsens humanitarian situation in Syria

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is concerned by reports of flooding in the western part of Raqqa city in northern Syria, a UN spokesman said here on Wednesday.

"The flooding has resulted in an estimated 120 families fleeing their homes towards the western countryside of Raqqa," reported as the "de facto capital" of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a daily news briefing.

"While the UN does not have access to the city, the flooding compounds an already extremely difficult humanitarian situation for people in the city under the control of Da'esh," or the IS, he said.

"Overall, an estimated 400,000 people in Raqqa are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection as military operations in populated areas continue."

"The UN, through local partners, continues to deliver assistance to those in need in areas of Raqqa that are accessible and where security conditions permit," he said.

Meanwhile, some 2,400 people were reportedly evacuated from the Wa'er neighborhood in Homs city to Idleb governorate on Tuesday, he said, adding that this brings the total number of evacuees from Wa'er to over 17,000 people since the Al Wa'er agreement was signed in mid-March.

An estimated 35,000 people remain in Al Wa'er and further evacuations are expected, the spokesman said.

Raqqa is located on the northeast bank of Euphrates River, about 160 kilometers east of Aleppo, and 40 kilometers east of the Tabqa Dam, the largest dam in Syria. Endit