United Nations refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi on Friday gave a stark assessment of the impact the seven-year civil war on Syria, calling it "a colossal human tragedy" and a "devastating conflict" that caused civilians relentless suffering.
“This seven-year war has left a colossal human tragedy in its wake. For the sake of the living, it is high time to end this devastating conflict," Grandi stated.
"There are no clear winners in this senseless pursuit of a military solution. But the losers are plain to see – they are the people of Syria,” Grandi added.
Seven years of fighting have cost hundreds of thousands of lives, driven 6.1 million people from their homes inside Syria, and forced 5.6 million refugees to seek safety in neighbouring countries in the region.
Inside Syria, 69 percent of civilian are living in extreme poverty, while some 5.6 million people endure life-threatening condition and require urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the UNHCR.
UNHCR and humanitarian partners are doing their utmost to bring relief to those in dire need inside Syria, but access to populations in besieged and hard-to-reach areas remains "woefully inadequate", the agency said.
In the besieged town of Duma in Eastern Ghouta, relentless shelling forced trucks bringing desperately needed humanitarian aid to leave the rebel-held enclave on 5 March before half of the food destined for the hungry could be offloaded. The convoys aid have not been able to return to the rebel-held enclave since, UNHCR said.
“Even in war, there are rules that all sides must respect. In Syria, even the option to flee conflict areas for safety in other parts of the country is diminishing," Grandi said.
"Humanitarian access to those in need must be guaranteed. People must be allowed to leave to seek refuge and civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals and schools must be protected at all costs,” he said.
Grandi is currently in Lebanon, where he spent three days meeting with senior government officials and some of the nearly one million registered Syrian refugees living there - almost the same number as in the whole of Europe.
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