New York – The United Nations said it was unable to deliver humanitarian aid to 4.6 million people that lived in hard-to-reach areas, as the situation in the country continued to deteriorate.
Stephen O’Brien, UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief, told the UN Security Council on Friday in New York that it was as a result of the tit-for-tat approach by the warring parties.
He said this had caused devastation to the ordinary women, men and children of Syria and it must stop.
The officer told the council that since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, 250,000 people have been killed and 1 million Syrians have been injured.
“Some 7.6 million people have been internally displaced, including more than 1 million people in 2015 alone.
“More than 4 million Syrians have fled the country, and we may all be living on borrowed time.
“I am angry, because we as the international community are not allowed and able to do more to protect Syrians who more than ever need our unfaltering support,’’ he said.
O’Brien condemned the indiscriminate attacks by the Syrian government and rebel forces in August.
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He said this include government-led airstrikes on a marketplace in Douma that killed more than 100 people and shelling in Damascus by non-state actors.
“This tit-for-tat approach by the warring parties is causing devastation to the ordinary women, men and children of Syria and it must stop.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has submitted recommendations to the Security Council, about setting up a mechanism to identify the perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
His recommendations, including setting up and operating a joint investigative mechanism with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), came in response to a Security Council resolution seeking accountability for the attacks.
After a resolution in September 2013, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was required to eliminate the country’s chemical weapons stockpile and stop the use of chemicals as weapons.
However, even after the OPCW verified and destroyed the country’s declared chemical weapons, attacks using chlorine gas and other toxic chemicals have been reported. (dpa/NAN)
