“Absolutely nothing” justifies the continuing use of siege tactics by the warring parties in Syria, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.

UNICEF’s Regional Director Geert Cappelaere said that escalating violence in the besieged eastern city of Deir ez-Zor had put 93,000 civilians at risk, including more than 40,000 children.

The extremist group ISIL, or Daesh, has surrounded the city since July 2014, depriving its residents of food, medicines and other essentials.

The UN had been carrying out air drops of aid for the past nine months, but Daesh militants took control of the drop zone on 15 January.

Basma Baghall asked UNICEF spokesperson Tamara Kummer, at regional headquarters in Jordan, for more details.

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