ahlam1399
08-19-2016, 04:56 AM
** humanitarian convoys in Syria in a month: United Nations
‘He stares into space, raises his arms to touch his bloodied forehead, looks at his
hand then wipes it on the ambulance seat’
BRUSSELS/ GENEVA: The European Union on Thursday urged an "immediate halt" to fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo to allow medical and humanitarian aid to reach an estimated 1.5 million trapped civilians.
"The EU and its member states call for... an immediate halt to the fighting in Aleppo to allow medical evacuations, deliveries of aid and repairing of essential water and electricity infrastructure," EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said in a statement.
The call came as pictures of a young Syrian boy sitting in an ambulance covered in blood and dust after an air strike becomes a symbol of civilian suffering in Aleppo, drawing worldwide attention. The United Nations warned earlier on Thursday that aid convoys had **t been able to reach besieged areas in Syria with desperately needed food and medicine for the past month.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city and eco**mic hub, is a top concern since President Bashar al-Assad’s troops seized control of the last supply route into rebel-held areas in mid-July.
Mogherini, speaking on behalf of all 28 EU member states, called on all sides to "ensure the lifting of all sieges and allow sustained, countrywide humanitarian access to those in need."
At the same time, she said "all international actors" -- an apparent reference to long-time Assad ally Russia -- should abide by commitments taken by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in May to put a ceasefire in place to allow humanitarian aid in.
Russia launched a massive air campaign in September which has helped Assad regain control of key areas, especially in and around Aleppo.
Mogherini reiterated the EU believed there could be ** peace without a "without a genuine political transition" -- that is, with Assad stepping down at some point in a negotiated settlement.
More than 290,000 people have been killed and more than half the population has been displaced since protests against Assad turned into a full-scale civil war.
Meanwhile, aid convoys have **t reached Syria’s besieged areas with desperately needed food and medicine for the past month, the UN envoy to the war-ravaged country, Staffan de Mistura, said on Thursday.
In protest at the failure of warring parties to allow aid to reach civilians, de Mistura cut short the weekly meeting of the Geneva-based humanitarian taskforce, which is headed by the United States and Russia.
"**t one single convoy in one month has reached any of the humanitarian besieged areas," de Mistura told reporters, blaming relentless fighting.
Thursday’s taskforce meeting lasted just eight minutes before it was "suspended", de Mistura said, explaining that the move was symbolic and that the group would meet again next week.
The envoy re-issued the United Nations’ call for a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause in Aleppo, where an estimated 1.5 million civilians are trapped as fierce fighting rages between Syria President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city and former eco**mic hub, has emerged as a top concern for the UN and aid agencies since regime troops seized control of the last supply route into rebel-held areas in mid-July.
De Mistura said the 17 countries that make up the International Support Group for Syria (ISSG), which sit on the humanitarian taskforce, would hold a**ther meeting later Thursday on the issue of a humanitarian pause in Aleppo.
Since the beginning of the year, the UN and its Red Cross partners have delivered aid to nearly 1.3 million Syrians living in areas defined as besieged or hard-to-reach.
But the movement of convoys has primarily been hampered by access restrictions imposed by Assad’s government.
Deir Ezzor, which is partially controlled by the Islamic State group, has continued to receive aid over the last month through World Food Programme air drops, de Mistura said.
Four besieged areas -- Madaya, Zabadani, Foah and Kafraya -- have **t been reached by a convoy in 110 days, the UN envoy added.
More than 290,000 people have been killed and more than half the population has been displaced since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests that escalated into a brutal multi-front war.
Meanwhile, a photographer Mahmoud Rslan has taken many pictures of children killed in Syria’s war but **ne as haunting as the one showing Omran, four years old, dazed and covered in blood.
Shot after an air strike that hit a rebel-held district the battlefield **rthern city of Aleppo, the picture of Omran shows the brutality of Syria’s five-year conflict and the suffering of people trapped by fighting.
"I’ve taken a lot of pictures of children killed or wounded in the strikes that rain down daily," Rslan told AFP on Thursday, the day after he captured the image that has gone viral on social networks.
"Usually they are either unconscious or crying. But Omran was there, speechless, staring blankly, as if he did **t quite understand what had happened to him," he said by telephone.
A video filmed by the Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists in the divided **rthern city, shows Omran sitting still in an ambulance, his face, arms and legs caked with blood and dust.
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‘He stares into space, raises his arms to touch his bloodied forehead, looks at his
hand then wipes it on the ambulance seat’
BRUSSELS/ GENEVA: The European Union on Thursday urged an "immediate halt" to fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo to allow medical and humanitarian aid to reach an estimated 1.5 million trapped civilians.
"The EU and its member states call for... an immediate halt to the fighting in Aleppo to allow medical evacuations, deliveries of aid and repairing of essential water and electricity infrastructure," EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said in a statement.
The call came as pictures of a young Syrian boy sitting in an ambulance covered in blood and dust after an air strike becomes a symbol of civilian suffering in Aleppo, drawing worldwide attention. The United Nations warned earlier on Thursday that aid convoys had **t been able to reach besieged areas in Syria with desperately needed food and medicine for the past month.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city and eco**mic hub, is a top concern since President Bashar al-Assad’s troops seized control of the last supply route into rebel-held areas in mid-July.
Mogherini, speaking on behalf of all 28 EU member states, called on all sides to "ensure the lifting of all sieges and allow sustained, countrywide humanitarian access to those in need."
At the same time, she said "all international actors" -- an apparent reference to long-time Assad ally Russia -- should abide by commitments taken by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in May to put a ceasefire in place to allow humanitarian aid in.
Russia launched a massive air campaign in September which has helped Assad regain control of key areas, especially in and around Aleppo.
Mogherini reiterated the EU believed there could be ** peace without a "without a genuine political transition" -- that is, with Assad stepping down at some point in a negotiated settlement.
More than 290,000 people have been killed and more than half the population has been displaced since protests against Assad turned into a full-scale civil war.
Meanwhile, aid convoys have **t reached Syria’s besieged areas with desperately needed food and medicine for the past month, the UN envoy to the war-ravaged country, Staffan de Mistura, said on Thursday.
In protest at the failure of warring parties to allow aid to reach civilians, de Mistura cut short the weekly meeting of the Geneva-based humanitarian taskforce, which is headed by the United States and Russia.
"**t one single convoy in one month has reached any of the humanitarian besieged areas," de Mistura told reporters, blaming relentless fighting.
Thursday’s taskforce meeting lasted just eight minutes before it was "suspended", de Mistura said, explaining that the move was symbolic and that the group would meet again next week.
The envoy re-issued the United Nations’ call for a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause in Aleppo, where an estimated 1.5 million civilians are trapped as fierce fighting rages between Syria President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city and former eco**mic hub, has emerged as a top concern for the UN and aid agencies since regime troops seized control of the last supply route into rebel-held areas in mid-July.
De Mistura said the 17 countries that make up the International Support Group for Syria (ISSG), which sit on the humanitarian taskforce, would hold a**ther meeting later Thursday on the issue of a humanitarian pause in Aleppo.
Since the beginning of the year, the UN and its Red Cross partners have delivered aid to nearly 1.3 million Syrians living in areas defined as besieged or hard-to-reach.
But the movement of convoys has primarily been hampered by access restrictions imposed by Assad’s government.
Deir Ezzor, which is partially controlled by the Islamic State group, has continued to receive aid over the last month through World Food Programme air drops, de Mistura said.
Four besieged areas -- Madaya, Zabadani, Foah and Kafraya -- have **t been reached by a convoy in 110 days, the UN envoy added.
More than 290,000 people have been killed and more than half the population has been displaced since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests that escalated into a brutal multi-front war.
Meanwhile, a photographer Mahmoud Rslan has taken many pictures of children killed in Syria’s war but **ne as haunting as the one showing Omran, four years old, dazed and covered in blood.
Shot after an air strike that hit a rebel-held district the battlefield **rthern city of Aleppo, the picture of Omran shows the brutality of Syria’s five-year conflict and the suffering of people trapped by fighting.
"I’ve taken a lot of pictures of children killed or wounded in the strikes that rain down daily," Rslan told AFP on Thursday, the day after he captured the image that has gone viral on social networks.
"Usually they are either unconscious or crying. But Omran was there, speechless, staring blankly, as if he did **t quite understand what had happened to him," he said by telephone.
A video filmed by the Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists in the divided **rthern city, shows Omran sitting still in an ambulance, his face, arms and legs caked with blood and dust.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/World-TheNewsInternational/~4/Nqyada-dNzc
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