UNICEF calls for end to ‘dire’ situation in Aleppo
BEIRUT — UNICEF’s representative in Syria called Saturday for an end to the violence that has beset northern Aleppo, causing “dire” humanitarian and psychological impacts on both sides of the divided city.
United Nations agencies are on “standby” to deliver needed assistance, Hanaa Singer of the U.N.’s children agency said.
With the key powers deeply divided, the U.N. Security Council on Saturday once again failed to agree on the course of action in war-ravaged Aleppo and Syria in general.
Russia vetoed a resolution drafted by France demanding an immediate halt to the bombing of Aleppo. A resolution put forward by Russia that called for a separation of moderate and extremist forces in Syria but made no mention of a bombing halt in Aleppo failed to get the minimum nine “yes” votes required for passage.
Also Saturday, Syrian state media and a Syria monitoring group said progovernment troops advanced in a northern district of eastern Aleppo, wrestling control from rebel fighters in their latest push into the besieged area.
Singer said conditions in besieged Aleppo are “terribly dire,” with hospitals hit, doctors overwhelmed and over 100 children killed in bombings since a ceasefire broke down Sept. 19.
Conditions for thousands of displaced in the government-held part of the city are also deteriorating, with some of them being displaced for up to six times in the last three years, she said.
Singer returned recently from a weeklong trip to the government-held part of Aleppo, where she was visiting thousands of displaced Syrians.
Most are crammed into makeshift shelters, mosques, parks and churches after recently fleeing clashes on the front line between rebels and progovernment forces.
In one case, a mother so desperate from the continuous displacement stabbed her baby girl thinking she would save her the misery of living on handouts and without a home, Singer said.
Describing the dramatic situation for thousands of families living in shelters in government-controlled Aleppo, Singer said: “These (are) the horrors in western Aleppo. God knows what is happening, (in the case of ) mental health or the psychological situation on the eastern (rebel-held) side.”
Western Aleppo, controlled by the government, is separated from eastern rebel-held Aleppo by a few meters, sometimes by a single plastic sheet or pockmarked building. An estimated 275,000 people are living in the rebel-held part of Aleppo, with no international aid reaching the area since the first week of July. Besides the scarce assistance, it is also difficult to assess the needs with the ever-evolving violent situation and lack of access for international aid groups, she said.
“I think we all agree, and especially if you have been so close in the area there and seeing the dire situation in the west, hearing about the horrible situation in the east, all we need now is (for) the violence to stop,” Singer said. “The violence has to stop, and once the violence stops, the U.N., we absolutely stand ready. We are ready. We are actually on standby.”
Singer said U.N. plans are in place for governmentheld Aleppo to accommodate residents that may evacuate the besieged part of the city if a cease-fire takes effect.
On Saturday, amid intensive air raids, pro-government forces seized the al-Awijeh district in northeastern rebel-controlled Aleppo, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory also reported clashes on the southern edge of the rebel-held area. There was no immediate word on casualties.
Syrian state TV reported that government and allied troops took control of alAwijeh, moving toward the Jandoul roundabout and getting closer to crowded residential areas in Aleppo’s rebel-controlled eastern districts.