Syria
A Syrian girl is pictured at the window of a house in the area of a pro-Syrian government checkpoint near the village Tal Dahab in the countryside of Qamishli, Hasaka province, on August 17, 2020. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Another 2.2 million Syrians are at risk of poverty and hunger as food prices soar after nearly a decade of conflict, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday.
“A record 9.3 million people in Syria are food insecure, & without urgent help 2.2 million more could slip further into hunger & poverty,” the United Nations agency tweeted.
Food prices skyrocketed this summer when the Syrian pound dropped to its lowest ever recorded rate in June as new United States sanctions came into force. The cost of food is now more than double the high prices reached during intense conflict in 2016 and still rising, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office.
While need is great, it is now more difficult to deliver humanitarian aid. In July, the UN Security Council narrowly passed a resolution allowing scaled down aid. Weeks of wrangling ended when Russia and China abstained from a vote, allowing a border crossing between Turkey and Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province to remain open to aid for another year. Authorization from the Security Council allows UN agencies to deliver humanitarian aid without approval from Damascus. Border crossings with Jordan and Iraq have been closed to aid.
The UN estimates 400,000 people have died in Syria’s conflict since 2011, more than 5.6 million people have fled the country, and over 6 million are internally displaced.
“A record 9.3 million people in Syria are food insecure, & without urgent help 2.2 million more could slip further into hunger & poverty,” the United Nations agency tweeted.
Food prices skyrocketed this summer when the Syrian pound dropped to its lowest ever recorded rate in June as new United States sanctions came into force. The cost of food is now more than double the high prices reached during intense conflict in 2016 and still rising, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office.
While need is great, it is now more difficult to deliver humanitarian aid. In July, the UN Security Council narrowly passed a resolution allowing scaled down aid. Weeks of wrangling ended when Russia and China abstained from a vote, allowing a border crossing between Turkey and Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province to remain open to aid for another year. Authorization from the Security Council allows UN agencies to deliver humanitarian aid without approval from Damascus. Border crossings with Jordan and Iraq have been closed to aid.
The UN estimates 400,000 people have died in Syria’s conflict since 2011, more than 5.6 million people have fled the country, and over 6 million are internally displaced.
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