U.N. Agencies Call for End of Carnage to Save Syrians from Catastrophe
Leaders of five U.N. agencies on Monday appealed to the international community to stop the "cruelty and carnage" in Syria, warning they may soon be forced to suspend humanitarian aid to the war-torn country.
"Needs are growing while our capacity to do more is diminishing, due to security and other practical limitations within Syria as well as funding constraints. We are precariously close, perhaps within weeks, to suspending some humanitarian support," the U.N. agency leaders warned.
The document was signed by U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Valerie Amos, Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP) Ertharin Cousin, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres, Executive Director of the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) Anthony Lake and Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan.
"We, leaders of U.N. agencies charged with dealing with the human costs of this tragedy, appeal to political leaders involved to meet their responsibility to the people of Syria and to the future of the region," they said.
"We ask that they use their collective influence to insist on a political solution to this horrendous crisis before hundreds of thousands more people lose their homes and lives and futures, in a region that is already at the tipping point."
The statement sought to hold the spotlight on the conflict in Syria in which more than 70,000 people have been killed and more than five million people have been driven from their homes, including one million refugees.
"After all this, there still seems an insufficient sense of urgency among the governments and parties that could put a stop to the cruelty and carnage in Syria," they stressed.
"To all involved in this brutal conflict and to all governments that can influence them: In the name of all those who have so suffered, and the many more whose futures hang in the balance: Enough! Summon and use your influence, now, to save the Syrian people and save the region from disaster."
Source: Agence France Presse
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