UN aid chief highlights 2 million Syrians in greatest need

Less than 20 per cent of the “desperate” civilians living in Syria’s hard-to-reach areas have got the humanitarian aid they need so far this year, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday, calling for the Security Council to help ease their plight.

Less than 20 per cent of the “desperate” civilians living in Syria’s hard-to-reach areas have got the humanitarian aid they need so far this year, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday, calling for the Security Council to help ease their plight.

“Those two million people, in places like northern rural Homs, Douma and southern Damascus, are some of the most desperate in the country,” Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said during his briefing to the 15-member body.

Only six inter-agency convoys have reached those areas since January, providing relief for 169,000 people, which is “less than 20 per cent of the people we would like to be reaching,” he added.

There had been almost 200,000 people who reportedly stayed in the Damascus suburb throughout the fighting. The authorities report that more than 10,000 people have returned to eastern Ghouta from Rural Damascus over the past two weeks, makes access to the area even more critical.