UN: Syrian regime's blocking of supplies 'unacceptable'

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA

The Syrian regime has still not been giving permission to aid agencies to deliver medical and surgical supplies in certain areas, a situation that was deemed "unacceptable" by the UN envoy on Syria on Thursday.

"We have discovered again the vitamins, antibiotics, painkillers, surgical items, basic medical kits have not been allowed by the minister of health of Syria," Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva after meeting with a humanitarian task force on Syria.

"This is not only worrisome but also unacceptable according to international law," said de Mistura. "Even the worst enemies should allow this."

"So far, 560,000 people have been reached between hard-to-reach areas and besieged areas. Which means that about 220,000 people in the besieged areas have so far been reached," he added.

Noting that one of the largest medical evacuations to date had been carried out on Wednesday from four besieged municipalities in Syria - Zabadani, Madaya, Kfarya and Foua - the UN envoy said that 515 people had been medically evacuated on Wednesday.

"Bottom line, there has been modest but real progress, not enough to make us comfortable at all," he added.

On Monday, the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said the opposition delegation had unilaterally postponed indirect talks with regime delegates. Key Syrian opposition delegation members left Geneva Tuesday following the postponement.

The delegation head of Bashar al-Assad regime said on Wednesday the peace talks in Geneva would continue despite the Syrian opposition’s decision to pull out of the current round.

The latest round of talks to resolve the Syria conflict began Wednesday last week. The regime delegation joined the talks Friday following parliamentary elections in Syria.