U.N. Food Agency 'to Help 1 Million people' in Syria

The U.N.'s World Food Program said Friday it plans to feed one million people in Syria affected by the ongoing fighting, up from its initial target of 850,000.

"At the moment we are nearing our target of feeding 850,000 people in Syria, which was our target for the end of July but which we did not reach because of the deteriorating security situation," WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told reporters in Geneva.

"By the end of September we hope to feed one million," she added.

In Aleppo, Syria's second city and scene of heavy fighting between government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels, the U.N. food agency has delivered aid to 100,000 people since the beginning of July.

In the last two weeks the agency has fed 60,000 people alone in the city and "a further 25,000 people will need help in the coming days", said Byers.

Efforts to expand the agency's operations continue "despite the difficulties and the violence", Byers said, adding that the agency relied on partners on the ground including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

In Homs, the U.N. agency has also finalized an agreement with a local humanitarian organization to distribute 40 percent of its food baskets.

The remaining 60 percent will be delivered by SARC, said Byrs, adding that the WFP was "still looking for new partners to continue our operations".

In rural areas some 1.5 million people will also require food assistance in coming months, according to the World Food Program.

As the security situation continues to deteriorate in Syria the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it has received calls from embassies in Damascus to repatriate 3,690 people.

They include those of Indonesia, Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, Belarus, Chile and Egypt, said IOM spokesman Jumbe Omari Jumbe, adding that the agency has already helped more than 800 "stranded migrant workers" fly home on commercial flights.