Water situation in Aleppo alarming as fighting rages: Unicef

Unicef on Friday warned that the ongoing fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo was affecting over two million people of the city who have no access to safe drinking water.

"Access to safe water in Aleppo has continued to deteriorate over the past two weeks", Xinhua news agency quoted Unicef spokesman Christophe Boulierac as saying.

"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," Boulierac added.

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

"We urge parties of 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.

"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.

On Thursday a photograph of a boy sitting dazed and bloodied in the back of an ambulance after surviving an air strike in Aleppo has highlighted the desperation of the Syrian civil war and the struggle for control of the city.

The child has been identified as five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, who was injured late on Wednesday in a military strike on the rebel-held Qaterji neighbourhood in Aleppo.

--IANS

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