UN: 300,000 Syrians at risk of siege in Aleppo

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien has expressed grave concerns about the recent developments in the eastern Syrian city of Aleppo and other hard to reach areas.

O’Brien made his remarks as he briefed the UN Security Council on the situation in Syria on Monday.

“Between 200,000-300,000 people are at risk of siege,” he warned.

“Mortars, missiles and projectiles had killed scores of people and injured hundreds. Due to the fighting, the Castello road – the last remaining route in and out of the eastern side of Aleppo – had been cut off.  Food was expected to run out in that district by mid-August, and medical facilities had come under attack,” he warned.

O’Brien urged parties to the conflict, and those with influence over them, including the Security Council, to act immediately to establish a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause for eastern Aleppo that would afford the United Nations and its partners safe, regular and sustained access to 250,000 people trapped behind the front lines.