Brussels, 28/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - Alarmed by the situation in Eastern Aleppo, which aid staff and supplies have been unable to enter since 7 July, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides issued an urgent call on Thursday 28 July for an immediate truce.
“The recent closure of the last remaining supply route has turned Eastern Aleppo in Syria into a de facto besieged area, cutting off around 300,000 people from any form of vital assistance. The EU calls for an immediate humanitarian pause in fighting to allow medical evacuations and the delivery of medicines, food and water from and into Eastern Aleppo as the humanitarian situation has deteriorated dramatically”, they say in a joint press release.
The two add: “Without urgent humanitarian access, food supplies are expected to run out over the next few weeks and Aleppo might well turn into the largest humanitarian tragedy of this conflict, which has already brought so much suffering. This is simply unacceptable”.
The EU high representative and the commissioner say: “The use of starvation of civilians through the besiegement of populated areas for which the regime bears the greatest responsibility, as a tactic of war, is contrary to international law”, as are “the deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure”.
Mogherini and Stylianides call for immediate lifting of sieges across Syria and unhindered country-wide humanitarian access. Viewing a humanitarian truce as simply a first stage, they point out that only a political solution can solve the conflict. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)