Syria: UN relief wing sounds alarm on behalf of some 300,000 people trapped in war-torn Aleppo | WPN World People News

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed serious concern for the estimated 300,000 people trapped in eastern Aleppo City, due to heavy clashes along the Castello road, the only road in and out of that part of the city.

A girl stands barefoot on a muddy walkway between rows of tent shelters, in the Bab Al Salame camp for internally displaced persons, near the border with Turkey, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria.

“Heavy fighting over the past few days has continued to put civilians at risk of death and injury while effectively cutting off humanitarian’s access to people in need of assistance,” a UN spokesperson told reporters on 8 July in New York.

This follows intensified fighting by all parties to the conflict in Aleppo City and surrounding areas in recent weeks, including reports of airstrikes, shelling, and heavy clashes, causing many civilian deaths and injuries. It has also caused damage to schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, and hindered humanitarian aid operations.

The spokesperson reiterated the UN’s call on all parties to the conflict to take measures to protect civilians, as required under international humanitarian law, in order to safeguard the lives of all civilians living in Aleppo city and added: “We also call on all parties to the conflict to take all measures to facilitate humanitarian access, particularly to eastern Aleppo city, as required under international humanitarian law.”

Source: United Nations