Save the Children says it strongly condemns the recent appalling attack on busses that were being used to evacuate civilians from two towns in North-West Syria, Foua and Kefraya. A number of people including children are thought to have been killed in what appears to be a savage attack. Sonia Khush who runs Save the Children in Syria says people have been living under siege for the past couple of years and the condition they live in are truly horrific.
Attacking civilians with impunity
In a strongly worded statement Ms Khush added that once people finally had the chance to leave all sides participating in the conflict continue to attack civilians with no repercussions. This has had devastating consequences for children and their families. Ms Khush says civilians should never be targeted. The attack took place whilst thousands of people were being evacuated from four towns that are under siege.
Children are dying
Two towns are government held and are Foua and Kefraya, whilst the other two towns, Madaya and Zabadani are held by opposition forces. Whilst under siege, critical aid such as medicine and food are prevented from entering for months at time. To add to that, children are dying from starvation, sniper fire and bombing. Save the Children is urging all parties involved in the conflict to make sure that the remaining evacuees are completely protected and given safe passage.
Millions of people not receiving aid
650,000 people still live under siege in Syria. There are also more than 4 million people living in parts of the country that are considered ‘hard to reach’ and simply not accessible to aid agencies. Despite the fact that various participants in the conflict have pledged to increase aid access, over 90 per cent of people living in these parts of Syria have no seen a single aid convoy in 2017.
