8 August 2016 (UN News): With more than two million people impacted by the fighting in and around war-ravaged Aleppo, where wide swaths of the area are now without power and water supplies are dwindling, the United Nations today urgently called for a humanitarian pause in the hostilities to enable immediate access to repair the electricity and water networks, and provide assistance to people in need.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 250,000-275,000 people have remained trapped in east Aleppo since early July following the closure of Castello road, the last remaining access route into the area.
Since 6 August, Khanasser road, the main access route into west Aleppo has also been cut, bringing the total number of civilians living in de facto fear of besiegement to over two million.
A press statement from Yacoub El Hillo, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, and Kevin Kennedy, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, noted that over the past few weeks, communities in both east and west Aleppo have borne the brunt of the vicious conflict, with countless civilians dead or injured.
A city united in its suffering
The two senior UN officials explained that water available through wells and tanks in Aleppo is not nearly enough to sustain the needs of the population.
Civilians, including the sick and wounded, must be reached through the most effective way both through cross-line and cross-border operations from Turkey. They must be assisted without discrimination and wherever they are located. All parties must guarantee the security, safety and dignity of all civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law.
