UN says Syria relief effort at stake, calls for ceasefireAugust 23, 2016 - 14:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The top aid official at the United Nations gave a gloomy assessment of the Syria relief effort on Monday, August 22, saying no convoy deliveries had been made to besieged areas this month and that the suffering in Aleppo, once Syria’s commercial epicenter, was the “apex of horror,” The New York Times reports. In a briefing to the Security Council, the official, Stephen O’Brien, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said that while he welcomed Russia’s support last week for a 48-hour cease-fire in Aleppo — as he had proposed earlier in the month — there had been no assurances from other combatants. “This cannot be a one-sided offer,” O’Brien said. “Plans are in place, but we need the agreement of all parties to let us do our job.” United Nations officials have said that the fighting in Aleppo — pitting Syrian government forces and their Russian backers against an array of insurgents, including Islamist militants — has left 275,000 people in rebel-held eastern Aleppo completely cut off from food, water and medicine, and has severely limited aid deliveries to 1.5 million people in government-held western Aleppo. Humanitarian access to hundreds of thousands of Syrians in other combat zones has been blocked by fighting, security concerns and the Syrian bureaucracy, O’Brien said, despite an international agreement reached in May to permit truck convoy deliveries. As a result, O’Brien said, no convoys were dispatched in August, despite some successful, if limited, deliveries in July. “We unfortunately appear to be, once again, in reverse gear,” O’Brien said, according to NYT. He described the crisis in Aleppo, portrayed in images of dead and wounded children like that of a 5-year-old boy pulled from the rubble last week, as “the apex of horror at its most horrific extent of the suffering of people.” Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. U.S. doesn’t see Russia as contributing to peace in Caucasus Patel made the remarks when asked about the implications of Russia’s withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh. |