Eastern Aleppo could soon be besieged, UN warns

The Syrian government has refused a UN request for humanitarian aid access to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, the UN said Wednesday, warning that the area could soon be besieged.

"The horrific fighting and bombardment in recent days, especially in and around Aleppo, is creating new areas with endless suffering and no access for humanitarians," said Jan Egeland, who heads an international humanitarian taskforce for the war-ravaged country.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the taskforce created in February by the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG), he said the situation in Aleppo needed to change immediately.

"If not, eastern Aleppo may even become a besieged area," he warned.

Syria's second city has over nearly two weeks been hit by a wave of violence, including numerous attacks on hospitals and other medical facilities, that has killed more than 270 people.

Washington and Moscow are working together to include Aleppo in a so-called "regime of silence" -- a freeze in fighting -- aimed at bolstering a broader, but now crumbling truce in place since February 27...
 [AFP - ahram.org.eg]
4/5/16
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