The Syrian conflict started with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, but it quickly evolved into a full-on civil war that has continued without pause for five years.
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UNICEF said children and families in Aleppo were facing “a catastrophic situation”, with up to two million people without running water for four days after fighting damaged electricity networks needed to pump supplies.
Rival parties, however, were seen bringing in reinforcements to Aleppo ahead of an expected new round of fighting after opposition groups breached a government-imposed siege and cut a key government route to the city over the weekend.
With fighting disabling the power to the city’s water pumping facilities, Aleppo residents have had access to running water for less than 24 hours since the end of last month.
The United Nations has called for urgent aid access to Syria’s Aleppo as regime forces and rebel fighters prepare for an all-out battle for control of the devastated city.
Authorities had urgently restored an alternative power line on August 4, only to see it damaged less than 24 hours later, with intense fighting hampering fix efforts.
“The U.N. stands ready to assist the civilian population of Aleppo, a city now united in its suffering”, the statement said. Taps have now been dry for eight of the past nine days.
“These cuts are coming amid a heat wave, putting children at a grave risk of waterborne diseases”, said Hanaa Singer, UNICEF’s representative in Syria.
If this is not done, residents will have no choice but to resort to risky practises, such as drinking water from wells which may be contaminated by faecal matter rendering it unsafe to drink, Unicef said.
Civilians, including the sick and wounded, must be reached through the most effective way both through cross-line and cross-border operations from Turkey.
This brought the total number of civilians in the city under “de facto fear of besiegement to over two million”, the United Nations said.
In western Aleppo, aid groups have been delivering emergency water to an estimated 325,000 people.
“The UN is extremely concerned that the consequences will be dire for millions of civilians if the electricity and water networks are not immediately repaired”, they said.
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The UN’s top humanitarian official in Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, and regional coordinator Kevin Kennedy said in a statement late on Monday that medical and food stocks “are running dangerously low” in Aleppo. During the first minutes of chaos, the two hospitals were referring patients to each other while simultaneously being struck.
