Families fleeing escalating violence in Deraa set up tents on the southwestern borders of Syria on 26 June 2018. (Al-Faqir/UNICEF Canada/CNW Group)

Syrian children denied access to humanitarian aid

UNICEF Canada warns 55,000 children and their families are cut off from basic lifesaving humanitarian assistance in southwestern Syria. The aid agency is renewing calls for the UN Security Council to pressure the Syrian government and all parties to the conflict to allow safe and unconditional access to children in need.

This is not new. UNICEF says that over the last seven years of civil war in Syria, many children’s lives were lost needlessly. “Over the past years, humanitarian access has been severely restricted, conditional and at times completely denied in Syria,” said UNICEF’s Geert Cappalaere in a news release. “Many lives in Syria could have easily been saved if humanitarian assistance was delivered in a timely manner and without conditions.”

She adds that “continuous reports of attacks on humanitarian workers are extremely worrying. They are not a target, and must be protected at all times.”

UNICEF estimates there are six million children across Syria in need of assistance.

Canada recently expressed grave concern about the situation for civilians in southwestern Syria.

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