UN unable to feed a million Syrians
2013-01-08 16:12
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Syria
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Geneva - The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday
it is unable to help 1 million Syrians who are going hungry.
This month, the agency aims to help 1.5 million of the
2.5 million Syrians that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent says need it, spokesperson
Elisabeth Byrs said.
The lack of security and the agency's inability to use
the Syrian port of Tartous for its shipment means that a large number of people
in the some of the country's hardest hit areas will not get help, she said.
"Our main partner, the Red Cross, is overstretched
and has no more capacity to expand further," Byrs said.
She also said that the agency has temporarily pulled its
staff out of its offices in the Syrian cities of Homs, Aleppo, Tartous and
Qamisly due to the rising dangers in those areas.
But in December, WFP was able to reach for the first time
in many months some hard-to-reach areas near the Turkish border, she said.
The Syria crisis began with peaceful protests in March
2011 but has since shifted into a civil war. At least 60 000 people have been
killed in the conflict, according to a recent UN estimate.
- SAPA
