The United Nations on Thursday said it “deeply concerned” for the safety and protection of up to 15,000 people, many of them women and children, still trapped inside Raqqa city. The city has been subjected to relentless airstrikes by the international anti-SISI coalition and artillery shelling by militias of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“The humanitarian situation inside the city remains dire, with a majority of the remaining population reportedly facing deteriorating humanitarian, health, living and security conditions,” said Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary‑General.
“Since July, over 51,000 people in Raqqa have been displaced, including close to 30,000 in the month of August.”
Dujarric told reporters that “UN agencies, through their local partners, have continued to provide food and other key items, hygiene kits, nutrition, medical treatment and vaccinations for people in need in at least 58 areas where most of the internally displaced people are concentrated.”
“In the month of August alone, more than 333,000 people were reached with food assistance, while 252,000 children under 5 were vaccinated against polio in both Raqqa and Deir Ezzour governorates,” Dujarric added. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Anadolu Agency)