Syria: UN agency calls for access to reach people in need of relief

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today voiced concern over shortages of food, water, electricity and medical services in Syria and requested that humanitarian agencies be allowed to go to all areas where people are in need of assistance.

The agency has not been able to carry out a full evaluation of the food situation in Syria, but plans to distribute 50,000 monthly ration packs this month, in additional to the 22,000 rations delivered in August, WFP spokesperson Gaëlle Sévenier told reporters in Geneva.

WFP has been working with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to distribute the food to some of the most vulnerable families in the country, she added. Many Syrians were already grappling with high food prices, but the situation has deteriorated for families who have lost their property in the ongoing conflict and as a result of drought.

The agency is also providing food aid to an estimated 100,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria using a text messaging system that enables people to buy rice, cheese, eggs and fresh produce, Ms. Sévenier said.

More than 3,500 people have been killed since the Syrian Government began a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in March, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The protests are part of a wider pro-democracy movement across North Africa and the Middle East this year that has toppled long-standing regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.