Lives at risk “every minute that passes” in besieged Eastern Ghouta
Close to 400,000 civilians continue to be in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in Syria’s besieged Eastern Ghouta, said the UN on Monday.
Fighting has intensified and humanitarian agencies have not been able to provide lifesaving food or medical supplies, since 28th of November.
The UN continues to call for a ceasefire to allow aid to flow in, as well as access to evacuate the critically-ill.
Panos Moumtzis, the UN’s Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said in an interview with UN News that the “20 to 30-minute drive” to hospitals in Damascus is impossible under current conditions.
At stake are 600 civilian lives, including those of 142 children.
“Every day, every hour, every minute that passes… their lives are at risk,” Mr Moumtzis told Reem Abaza.
He also provided the latest on the recent massive civilian displacement in Idlib Governorate and around Afrin, close to the Turkish border.
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