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2 million people without running water in Aleppo, says UNICEF

Since 19 September, the Syrian regime and its allies have intensified their attacks on civilian positions under the control of the moderate Syrian opposition in Aleppo

September 26, 2016 at 10:01 am

UNICEF has revealed that nearly 2 million people are facing water supply shortages after the breakdown of two pumping stations as a result of the bombardment that took place over the weekend.

“Intense attacks last night have damaged the Bab Al-Nayrab water pumping station, which supplies water to some 250,000 people in the eastern parts of Aleppo,” UNICEF’s representative in Syria, Hanaa Singer, said in a Sunday press statement. “In retaliation, the Suleiman Al-Halabi pumping station, also located in the east, was switched off, cutting water to 1.5 million people in the western parts of the city.”

Singer warned that the population in the eastern part of the city will have to resort to highly contaminated well water. UNICEF will expand its trucking of emergency water supplies throughout Aleppo as a temporary solution.

“Depriving children of water puts them at risk of catastrophic outbreaks of waterborne diseases and adds to the suffering, fear and horror that children in Aleppo live through every day,” the UNICEF official explained. “It is critical for children’s survival that all parties to the conflict stop attacks on water infrastructure, provide access to assess and repair damage to Bab Al-Nayrab station, and switch the water back on at the Suleiman Al-Halabi station.”

Since 19 September, the Syrian regime and its allies have intensified their attacks on civilian positions under the control of the moderate Syrian opposition in Aleppo, which has led to the death of at least 323 civilians and the wounding of 1,334.