The United States has accused the Syrian government of preventing humanitarian aid deliveries to all besieged and hard-to-reach areas of the country as required in UN resolutions, even as a ceasefire that was meant to allow such deliveries continues.
US Ambassador Samantha Power on Tuesday told reporters, after a closed-door emergency briefing to the Security Council by the UN humanitarian chief, that less food aid reached millions of people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in March than in February, when the ceasefire began.
The UN's humanitarian office said 21 per cent of the nearly 500,000 people in besieged areas were reached in March, down from 25 per cent in February.
But spokeswoman Amanda Pitt said 83,000 of the 4.1 million people in hard-to-reach areas got aid in March, more than the 53,000 in February.
Syria's government hasn't approved aid for the besieged areas of Duma, East Harasta and Daraya, which are "mere minutes' drive away from UN warehouses in Damascus," humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told the council last week.
He said the UN has received reports that severe food shortages are forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass.
Power said Daraya hasn't received "one crumb of UN food" since 2012.
The US ambassador also held up a photo of a skeletal boy in Madaya, which recently received several aid deliveries.
She said O'Brien described on Tuesday how the UN tried to evacuate him for medical treatment but the Syrian government refused and the boy, who was around 14 years old, died on Monday.
Pitt said the UN has requested access to 11 priority areas in April, but the government has so far only approved six locations, leaving out areas including Daraya, Duma and East Harasta.
She said the World Food Program is trying to air drop food to 200,000 people besieged in parts of Deir el-Zour city.
Power said the United States and other Security Council members are appealing to those with influence on the Syrian government to ensure that every area is reached.
Her appeal was clearly aimed at Russia, Syria's closest ally.
Russia's deputy UN ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told reporters that under the cessation of hostilities agreement a humanitarian working group was created in Geneva, "and this is where we are working" on implementation of UN resolutions adopted in December and February calling for humanitarian access to all besieged and hard-to-reach areas.
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