Escalation of Syria crisis to aggravate civilians suffering, warns ICRC

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that any escalation of the crisis in Syria will aggravate the suffering of the civilians, as the Western countries mull military action against the Arab country.

“Further escalation will likely trigger more displacement and add to humanitarian needs, which are already immense,” Magne Barth, head of the ICRC’s delegation in Syria, said on Thursday.

Barth underscored shortages of vital medical, food and water supplies in a number of areas hit by months of clashes between the Syrian government forces and foreign-backed militants.

“In large parts of Rural Damascus for example, people are dying because they lack medical supplies and because there are not enough medical personnel to attend to them. They also go hungry because aid can’t get through to them on a regular basis,” he said.

Dibeh Fakhr, spokeswoman for ICRC Syria, also said that the organization’s water engineers were in the Syria city of Hama to repair a damaged pipeline that serves more than 1.3 million people. The pipeline that brings water from Homs to Hama was reportedly damaged during clashes about two weeks ago.

ICRC, an independent humanitarian agency, has 90 aid workers in Syria. The agency said it was committed to providing humanitarian work for the Syrians and giving unconditional access to all areas across the Arab country.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and 7.8 million others displaced since the crisis began in Syria in 2011.

Hundreds of people were killed and scores of others were injured in a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar on August 21.

The foreign-backed opposition has blamed the Syrian government for the deadly attack. Opposition sources say 1,300 people were killed in the poisonous gas attack.

The Damascus government, however, has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the chemical attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation.