Syria’s sorrow bites in winter

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Syria’s sorrow bites in winter

Syria’s cycle of sorrow continues unabated with more deaths, displacement and hunger for its people as President Bashar Al Assad digs in for a fight to the finish.

by

Allan Jacob

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Published: Wed 9 Jan 2013, 8:22 AM

Last updated: Thu 20 Feb 2020, 9:56 AM

The situation is grim and appears to be spinning out of control in the chill of winter with more dying by the day. Latest estimates by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) has put the body count at 60,000 since the conflict began almost two years ago while four million are in need of humanitarian assistance inside the country, including 450,000 Palestinian refugees.
Syrians who have been driven out by the fighting number 600,000 and humanitarian intervention over the next six months requires a whopping $1.5 billion in funds, according to a UN bulletin released to Khaleej Times.
People caught up in the violence face acute shortages of food, water and fuel, and access to medical care is limited. An estimated 1.5 million face food shortages while UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has warned that another 100,000 people could be killed if the conflict continues for another year.
The stats are shocking. From around 1,000 people killed per month in the summer of 2011, more than 5,000 people have been killed on average per month since July 2012. Seventy-six per cent of the victims are male.
‘‘In absolute terms, the governorates of Homs, Rural Damascus, Idlib, Aleppo, Dera’a and Hama have suffered the highest number of deaths. More than 12,000 people have so far been killed in Homs, while nearly 11,000 deaths have been recorded in Rural Damascus. This corresponds with the level of fighting in these areas, especially in densely populated urban centres,’’ the report said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the ‘‘number is higher than expected and truly shocking”. The deaths and displacement have been followed by 1.5 million suffering from hunger, and which the UN hopes to reach. But the World Food Programme said one million could still remain without adequate food.
Due to funding shortages, the current food basket can only provide approximately 1,000 kilocalorie (kcal) per person per day.
To overcome the immediate crisis in funding, the Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan for January-June 2013 is seeking $519 million to cover 61 projects in 10 sectors in all the 14 governorates of Syria. “Under the plan, UN agencies and humanitarian partners will assist four million people, focusing primarily on life-saving and emergency assistance in the sectors of food, health, essential non-food items, shelter and water and sanitation,” the UN agency said.
Besides this, $1 billion has been requested under the Regional Refugee Response Plan. This is to provide support to 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
“While the plan focuses on response activities targeting Syrians, it also includes projects to assist refugees and asylum-seekers who are located in Syria, as well as third-country nationals and 20,000 Palestine refugees who have fled Syria to Lebanon,” according to the OCHA.

UAE rushes more aid to refugees

The UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) is intensifying its winter relief efforts to improve living conditions of Syrian refugees in Jordan who are in abject humanitarian situation.
Dr Mohammed Ateq Al Falahi, RCA Secretary-General, stated that a convoy of 16 trucks carrying 158 tonnes of food materials and winter clothing and supplies left the Capital on Tuesday by land for Jordan, as part of the RCA’s relief programme towards Syrian refugees in Jordan.
“The magnitude of damage and suffering caused by the latest events in Syria requires massive relief and humanitarian operations to meet the growing requirements of those affected,” he said. “We are monitoring the humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries so as to build our capacities and mobilise resources to reach the largest possible number of targeted groups,” he said. —
allan@khaleejtimes.com


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