“And that getting clean water running again can not wait for the fighting to stop”.
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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 on Monday urgently called for a humanitarian pause in the hostilities to enable immediate access to fix the electricity and water networks, and provide assistance to people in need.
Aleppo is divided in two: the rebel-held east and government-held west.
“The U.N. stands ready to assist the civilian population of Aleppo, a city now united in its suffering”, the statement said.
The Syrian government sent thousands of reinforcements to the city in recent days as part of an attempt to reverse gains made by rebel groups.
The United Nations on Tuesday called for humanitarian access to the embattled city amid fears that trapped civilians were enduring food and water shortages. “And rebels, led by a former al-Qaida affiliate, are vowing to take the entire city”.
“The targeting of hospitals and clinics continues unabated, seriously jeopardizing the health and welfare of all citizens of Aleppo”, they said, adding that attacks on civilian infrastructure this week severely damaged the city’s electric and water infrastructure, leaving more than two million residents of Aleppo without electricity or access to the public water network.
Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov accused the United States and its western colleagues of politicizing a humanitarian issue, urging them to “admit that the main cause of all of the humanitarian problems in Syria is not the counter-terrorist actions by the legitimate government of Syria”. It said technicians need access to fix electricity networks that drive water pumping stations. Another power line to the pumps was installed on August 4.
“These cuts are coming amid a heat wave, putting children at a grave risk of waterborne diseases”, Hanaa Singer, the UNICEF representative in Syria, said in the statement. If running water is not back soon, civilians “will be forced to resort to unsafe water sources”, the organization said in a statement. The electricity transmission station responsible for powering the water supply in eastern and western parts of Aleppo was struck by attacks on July 31.
O’Brien also said there had been no emergency deliveries to Aleppo this month, despite a previously negotiated agreement for humanitarian access. The water supply that is available through wells and tanks is not almost enough to sustain the needs of the population.
“The water and electricity situation is alarming”, said Krista Armstrong of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Syrian rebel groups have said they are fighting to hang on to key areas in the embattled northern city of Aleppo as government forces and their allies escalate their attacks.
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Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk with people that fled their homes due to clashes between Islamic State fighters and Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) towards safer parts of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, Aug. 7, 2016.
