REPORT: UN seeks access to Syria's Ghouta and Afrin as needs grow

The United Nations demanded on Tuesday full access to civilians in the ravaged Syrian zone of eastern Ghouta and the northern town of Afrin, to meet their urgent humanitarian needs.

The U.N. estimates that around 50,000 civilians, 70 percent of whom are women and children, have fled the besieged rebel-held enclave of eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, where Syrian forces, supported by their Russian and Iranian allies, have led a fierce military campaign that have cost more than 1,000 people their lives.

In the northern part of Syria, another 104,000 are estimated to have been uprooted by fighting in Afrin, where 10,000 are stranded nearby trying to cross into areas controlled by the Syrian government, according to the U.N.

According to the U.N., people flee with almost nothing with them and end up in overcrowded and damaged shelters beyond checkpoints.

Most displaced children fall victim to diarrhea and respiratory infections, in addition to malnutrition, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) noted.

UNICEF said that although it had provided assistance to 20,000 families who had fled Afrin, about 100,000 people, half of whom are children, were still estimated to be in the city.

 

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