Time Is ‘Running Out’ for Eastern Ghouta, WHO Says

The World Health Organization has demanded access to Eastern Ghouta to deliver aid to 300,000 besieged people there, Reuters reported.

The health situation is rapidly deteriorating in the rebel enclave outside the capital, where the area’s three hospitals are no longer functioning.

“Time is running out for the people of East Ghouta. As health needs increase, available resources are being depleted day by day. Our main goal now is to provide access to lifesaving care for thousands of vulnerable men, women and children immediately,” Elizabeth Hoff, WHO’s representative in Syria, said in a statement.

Pro-government forces besieged Eastern Ghouta nearly four years ago, and have recently intensified attacks on the area despite its being included in a December 30 cease-fire brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran.

Thirty percent of people suffering war-related injuries in Eastern Ghouta are children under the age of 15, WHO said.

Tens of Thousands Flee Fighting in Hama, U.N. Says

Nearly 40,000 have been displaced by recent fighting in Hama province in central Syria, the U.N. said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Last week rebels and allied jihadist groups launched an offensive in northwestern Hama, taking control of several villages and pushing back pro-government forces. The offensive is spearheaded by the Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria.

Residents, mostly women and children, have fled the clashes to further south in the province and to other government-held areas, the U.N. said.

Pause in Fighting to Check Whether Dam Is Collapsing

The U.S.-backed offensive against the so-called Islamic State near the Tabqa dam paused on Monday to allow engineers to check and fix any damage to the strategic structure, BBC News reported.

ISIS and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) currently control opposite sides of the dam, which is located west of Raqqa, ISIS’ de facto capital.

The U.S.-led coalition has denied ISIS claims that airstrikes have damaged the dam, a key reservoir and hydroelectric power station. The dam’s collapse could lead to large-scale flooding with “catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” according to the U.N.

The coalition said it is “taking every precaution to ensure the integrity” of the dam, which it says ISIS uses as a headquarters for senior and foreign fighters, and a prison for high-profile hostages.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• The Guardian: Spanish Court to Investigate Syrian ‘State Terrorism’ by Assad Regime
• Agence France-Presse: Dialysis Supplies Dwindle for Besieged Syrians
• Carnegie: Jordan’s Burden
• Reuters: Syrian Rebels Resume Withdrawal From Last Homs Bastion: Monitor
• NPR: Who Will Listen to the Suffering Syrians?