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300k cut off from aid in Syria’s Aleppo: UN official

Tuesday, 12 July 2016 2:26 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 12 July 2016 2:26 PM ]

A Syrian boy stands in front of an empty grocery market in the militant-held area of Aleppo on July 10, 2016. ©AFP

A United Nations spokeswoman has expressed concerns about intensified fighting between Syria’s warring sides in the northwestern city of Aleppo, saying the clashes have cut off an estimated 300,000 people from humanitarian supplies.

Alessandra Vellucci told a regular UN briefing in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday that the only road allowing access for humanitarian aid deliveries into the militant-held part of Aleppo has been completely cut off due to confrontation between Syrian government forces and militants.

Vellucci said that 300,000 people depend on the Castello road, the only path into eastern Aleppo, which is held by the terrorists.

Last week, Syrian government forces captured ground overlooking the road, severing the terrorists' only lifeline from the city to the outside world. A few days later, militants hit back with an offensive on government-held districts of Aleppo.

Elsewhere in her remarks, the UN official noted that the Castello road has been rendered "impassable" since fighting there worsened last week.

The UN continues to receive "distressing reports” of shelling on civilian locations in Aleppo, she added.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011. Damascus says Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar are the main supporters of the militants fighting the government forces.

Syrian army soldiers patrol a street in government-controlled Aleppo's al-Khalidiyah area on June 28, 2016. ©AFP

A ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia went into effect in Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to the Nusra Front and Daesh terrorist groups. Renewed violence in some parts of Syria, particularly around Aleppo, has recently left the truce in tatters.

The Takfiri terrorists operating in the Arab country have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to liberate a number of areas from the grip of the extremists.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since March 2011. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in the Middle Eastern state, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

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