U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime of obstructing deliveries of humanitarian aid in Syria, calling on it to show "some measure of decency" during the truce there.
Speaking at a media conference in Washington with his German counterpart Monday, Kerry said a February 11 agreement to implement a cessation of hostilities in Syria had already resulted in direct aid reaching 116,000 people.
But Kerry said he was concerned by reports that the regime "continues to drag its feet" in providing permits for the aid to get through.
"And so we call on the Assad regime to, at least in a moment of cessation of hostilities, try to show some measure of decency, if that is even possible.
"And our hope is that they will also stop their people, their troops and their officials who get in the way or manage these shipments, from actually putting their hands into the shipments and taking out medicine or taking out other preferred items simply to keep for themselves," he said.
"So this obstructionism that has existed has to stop, and we call on the Russians and the Iranians to do everything in their power to leverage their client to understand the stakes here."
The cessation of hostilities between a handful of rebel groups and the Assad regime began midnight Friday local time, excluding terrorist groups such as ISIS and al Nusra Front.
Kerry said that the U.N. hoped its aid would reach another 150,000 people this week and 1.7 million by the end of March, "providing that we can hold on to this process."
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement Monday saying that many of its requests for medical aid delivery had not been approved by the Syrian authorities.
"In 2015, WHO submitted a total of 102 requests to the Government of Syria; 30 were approved and 72 went unanswered," it said.
WHO Representative in Syria Elizabeth Hoff said in some cases life-saving medical supplies had been rejected and removed from aid convoys by government security forces.
"We are calling, once again, on all parties to this conflict to allow unhindered access and unconditional delivery of medical aid to all areas across Syria," Hoff said.
Food assistance
The calls for the Syrian regime to allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid came as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced that new funding would allow it to full reinstate its food assistance to Syrians. The funds were pledged during a "Supporting Syria and the Region Conference" in London in January.
"The funds pledged will support a comprehensive restoration of food assistance for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt from March until the end of the year. The funds will also enable WFP to provide a full food basket for families inside Syria from April until October 2016," the WHO said.
But they have to get there first.
'Deliberate starvation'
Earlier Monday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'Ad Al Hussein spoke out against sieges of towns and cities in Syria.
"The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges, which deprive civilians of essential goods such as food," Hussein said in a statement. "And yet over 450,000 people are currently trapped in besieged towns and villages in Syria -- and have been, in some cases, for years.
"Food, medicine and other desperately needed humanitarian aid is repeatedly obstructed. Thousands of people may have starved to death."Attacks continue
Since the truce came into effect last week there has been a dramatic decrease in airstrikes around Syria's rebel-held territory.
But the truce has not seen attacks stop completely. Russian state-run media reported six attacks on Damascus that originated from areas held by the Syrian opposition fighters, while an international group monitoring the conflict said warplanes had continued their strikes.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes had targeted the southern countryside of Hama, an area near Raqqa -- the de facto capital of ISIS -- and the Aleppo region. (CNN)
Speaking at a media conference in Washington with his German counterpart Monday, Kerry said a February 11 agreement to implement a cessation of hostilities in Syria had already resulted in direct aid reaching 116,000 people.
But Kerry said he was concerned by reports that the regime "continues to drag its feet" in providing permits for the aid to get through.
"And so we call on the Assad regime to, at least in a moment of cessation of hostilities, try to show some measure of decency, if that is even possible.
"And our hope is that they will also stop their people, their troops and their officials who get in the way or manage these shipments, from actually putting their hands into the shipments and taking out medicine or taking out other preferred items simply to keep for themselves," he said.
"So this obstructionism that has existed has to stop, and we call on the Russians and the Iranians to do everything in their power to leverage their client to understand the stakes here."
The cessation of hostilities between a handful of rebel groups and the Assad regime began midnight Friday local time, excluding terrorist groups such as ISIS and al Nusra Front.
Kerry said that the U.N. hoped its aid would reach another 150,000 people this week and 1.7 million by the end of March, "providing that we can hold on to this process."
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement Monday saying that many of its requests for medical aid delivery had not been approved by the Syrian authorities.
"In 2015, WHO submitted a total of 102 requests to the Government of Syria; 30 were approved and 72 went unanswered," it said.
WHO Representative in Syria Elizabeth Hoff said in some cases life-saving medical supplies had been rejected and removed from aid convoys by government security forces.
"We are calling, once again, on all parties to this conflict to allow unhindered access and unconditional delivery of medical aid to all areas across Syria," Hoff said.
Food assistance
The calls for the Syrian regime to allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid came as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced that new funding would allow it to full reinstate its food assistance to Syrians. The funds were pledged during a "Supporting Syria and the Region Conference" in London in January.
"The funds pledged will support a comprehensive restoration of food assistance for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt from March until the end of the year. The funds will also enable WFP to provide a full food basket for families inside Syria from April until October 2016," the WHO said.
But they have to get there first.
'Deliberate starvation'
Earlier Monday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'Ad Al Hussein spoke out against sieges of towns and cities in Syria.
"The deliberate starvation of people is unequivocally forbidden as a weapon of warfare. By extension, so are sieges, which deprive civilians of essential goods such as food," Hussein said in a statement. "And yet over 450,000 people are currently trapped in besieged towns and villages in Syria -- and have been, in some cases, for years.
"Food, medicine and other desperately needed humanitarian aid is repeatedly obstructed. Thousands of people may have starved to death."Attacks continue
Since the truce came into effect last week there has been a dramatic decrease in airstrikes around Syria's rebel-held territory.
But the truce has not seen attacks stop completely. Russian state-run media reported six attacks on Damascus that originated from areas held by the Syrian opposition fighters, while an international group monitoring the conflict said warplanes had continued their strikes.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes had targeted the southern countryside of Hama, an area near Raqqa -- the de facto capital of ISIS -- and the Aleppo region. (CNN)
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