UN humanitarian agencies in Syria request urgent access to affected populations in Rural Damascus

(Damascus, 12 June 2013) The United Nations is concerned about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Rural Damascus where several locations are increasingly difficult to access. The UN estimates that there are over 1.2 million people in hard-to-reach areas in Rural Damascus in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Since March 2013, UN humanitarian agencies in Syria have made repeated efforts to deliver urgently required relief items to the civilian population stranded in the area of Muadhamiya in Rural Damascus. Due to ongoing hostilities, an estimated 5,000 families in Muadhamiya are subject to immense suffering and they have not received sufficient assistance for many months. UN agencies have submitted three official requests to the Syrian Government to access the area and deliver life-saving assistance. The UN-led convoys carrying most needed relief items have been rescheduled seven times since then, awaiting official clearance from the concerned authorities.

This situation does not reflect the repeated pledges by the authorities to allow humanitarian actors to access all areas in Syria where there is need to deliver humanitarian assistance.

One week after the launch of the revised Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan, UN humanitarian agencies in Syria reiterate their commitment to continue expanding the humanitarian response to reach all affected people throughout the country. They request all concerned parties to urgently facilitate immediate access to Muadhamiya and other affected areas throughout the country in accordance with international humanitarian principles.