Human RightsSyria

Militants hampering aid efforts in Syria: WFP

displaced-syrians10The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says foreign-backed militants in Syria are hindering the process of aid provision in the crisis-hit Arab country.

Large swathes of eastern Syria have become even harder to access due to the fact that al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have taken some of the main roads in the area, Ertharin Cousin, the WFP head, said.

The agency plans to provide aid to around 4.9 million of Syrian population in 2014, she said, adding that the WFP reached 3.3 million Syrians up to November last year.

“The need is not reducing, the need is increasing,” Cousin said.

The head of the World Food Program, however, said Syrian officials had responded positively to requests for access, adding that the prospects for access appear to be improving in northern Aleppo and central Damascus.

The UN had previously expressed grave concern about reports that over half a million people remain trapped in rural areas outside Damascus.

Cases of severe malnutrition among children have also been reported.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. The UN says more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions of others displaced due to the violence.

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