Red Cross: Syrian authorities block aid access to Homs
The Red Cross is warning of ‘tragic’ consequences if Syrian authorities continue to block access to the old city of Homs, where trapped civilians are in desperate need of food of medical supplies.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said last Friday that it was negotiating a humanitarian pause to enable entry into Homs, where President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are conducting a major offensive against rebels, using air and artillery strikes.
“We have been trying, for close to 20 days now, to bring medical supplies and other aid to the old city of Homs,” Magne Barth, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria, said in a statement issued from Geneva.
“Despite lengthy negotiations with both sides, and three trips back and forth between Damascus and Homs, we have still not received the go-ahead from the Syrian authorities,” he said.
Armed insurgency
Homs, in central Syria, is the core of the armed insurgency that grew from popular street protests against more than four decades of Assad family rule. Some 2,000 people are thought to be trapped there, according to aid agencies.
Reaching many thousands of people in areas surrounded by government forces or militant opposition groups remains one of the biggest challenges the ICRC faces in Syria, the agency said.
Under international humanitarian law, warring parties are supposed to provide rapid safe passage of humanitarian relief for civilians.
“They must also allow civilians in areas besieged by fighting to leave for safer areas, should they wish to do so. Regrettably, these obligations are not always fulfilled,” the ICRC said.