Water situation in Aleppo alarming as fighting rages

UNICEF on Friday warned that ongoing fighting in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo has meant that some two million people are without access to safe drinking water.

"Access to safe water in Aleppo has continued to deteriorate over the past two weeks," UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac told the media.

"The situation is particularly worsening for civilians living in eastern parts of the city where taps have gone dry and families have no safe water through the public network," he added.

According to UNICEF estimates, some 100,000 children trapped in eastern parts of the war-torn city are facing outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

Heavy clashes between factions loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups seeking to oust him have meant that technicians are unable to repair the severely damaged electricity and water systems upon which the population relies on to provide running water.

"We urge parties to the conflict to immediately allow safe and protected access for technicians to conduct urgent repairs to the electricity and water networks so that water is restored across the city," Bouleriac said.

"No child in Syria is safe while the conflict drags on. Let me remind you that more than 3.5 million Syrian children under the age of five know nothing but displacement, violence, and uncertainty," he added.

Source : XINHUA