UN humanitarian official expresses worries about besieged people in Syria

DAMASCUS, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A visiting UN humanitarian affairs official on Thursday expressed here worries about the fate of besieged civilians in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta countryside of the capital Damascus and other hotspots in the war-torn country.

In a press conference Thursday evening, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, said he is concerned about the fate of besieged people in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region, a rebel-held region under siege, where military operations have recently intensified between the government forces and the armed militants.

Lowcock also mentioned the civilian causalities caused by the rebel mortar shelling on residential areas inside Damascus, as well as the people in the northwestern province of Idlib, where another military campaign is ongoing.

"I am particularly concerned about the fate of the besieged people of Eastern Ghouta. I am also concerned about reports of continuous shelling from Eastern Ghouta into Damascus city, with consequent civilian casualties. I also deeply worried about civilians affected by the upsurge in violence in Idlib...," he said.

Meanwhile, the UN official said he had detailed and open discussions with the Syrian government about the crisis and what more needs to be done to reduce the humanitarian suffering.

"On the basis of these discussions, I am hoping soon to see a number of positive developments enabling us to sustain and improve the aid effort this year," the official said.

In terms of funding, Lowcock said the UN humanitarian response plan for Syria is one of the world's largest sustained emergency aid efforts, adding that the donations they received in 2017 totaled at 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, suggesting that more fund is needed in 2018.

He said his organization is seeking 3.5 billion U.S. dollars from donors to meet the needs of more than 13 million people in all parts of Syria in 2018. Enditem