UN envoy condemns dire humanitarian situation in Syria

The UN Special Envoy to Syria on Thursday sent out a strong message calling off a humanitarian task force meeting after only a few minutes due to "lack of progress on the ground and ongoing fighting in the war-torn country".

"I suspended the meeting as a symbol of deep concern and as a sign of respect towards the World Humanitarian Day tomorrow (Friday)," Xinhua news agency quoted Staffan de Mistura as saying.

The meeting lasted for only eight minutes, the shortest ever between humanitarian task force members who convene here on weekly basis.

"It is also a sign of deep unhappiness about the fact that due to no pause in fighting no humanitarian aid is reaching anywhere in Syria at the moment except Deir-ez-Zor," he added.

The situation in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where two million civilians are trapped, is particularly alarming, the envoy warned.

The situation in what was once Syria's largest city and economic hub only compounds the dire humanitarian situation, he said.

--IANS

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