The UN children’s agency said that the fierce fighting that has rocked Aleppo in recent weeks had damaged the electricity networks needed to pump water supplies throughout the divided city.
Advertisement
The dire warning comes as Syrian activists say government warplanes are bombarding opposition-held parts of the city and the United Nations calls for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting so that electricity and water networks can be repaired. UNICEF and partners continue to seek access to east Aleppo city, to resume urgent repairs to water pipes and other infrastructure, to complete the installation and equipping of wells, and increase water storage capacity, as well as deliver emergency water trucking where necessary.
Insurgents effectively broke a month-long government siege of eastern, opposition-held Aleppo on Saturday, severing the primary government supply corridor and raising the prospect that government-held western Aleppo might become besieged.
Access is needed to deliver food and medical supplies and for technicians to fix electricity networks that drive water pumping stations, which were heavily damaged in attacks on civilian infrastructure last week.
This brought the total number of civilians in the city under “de facto fear of besiegement to over two million”, the United Nations said.
Citing U.N. figures, Power said Syrian government forces were to blame for almost 80 percent of the besieged areas throughout Syria.
“These cuts are coming amid a heat wave, putting children at a grave risk of waterborne diseases”, said Unicef’s Hanaa Singer in Syria.
The terrorist positions in the northern part of Aleppo have been encircled by the Syrian army with fighting continuing in southwestern districts of the city where the Syrian Army has repelled several militant attacks over the past 10 days, killing more than 2,000 terrorists.
Advertisement
He said only 35 physicians remain in Aleppo where 15 health care facilities had been attacked in July alone. The organization said it can confirm at least 10 attacks on medical facilities in eastern Aleppo in July alone.
