Ban condemns water cuts in Syria’s Aleppo

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Ban condemns water cuts in Syria’s Aleppo
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says depriving civilians essential supplies such as water is a clear breach of international humanitarian and human rights law

UNITED NATIONS – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned rebels Friday, May 16, for cutting water supplies to the besieged northern Syrian city of Aleppo, calling for services to be restored immediately.

Ban’s office said water supplies had been cut for 8 days, depriving at least 2.5 million people of access to water safe for drinking and sanitation.

Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, Al-Nusra Front, was among the rebel groups that cut the supplies, though the Red Crescent said that some services had been restored.

Ban “notes that preventing people’s access to safe water is a denial of a fundamental human right,” his office said.

“Deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of essential supplies is a clear breach of international humanitarian and human rights law.”

Ban called on all parties to “ensure that the water supply in Aleppo – and everywhere in Syria – is permanently restored and to refrain from targeting civilian facilities and infrastructure,” the statement added.

Rebel rocket fire killed 13 people in Aleppo earlier, while troops launched an offensive on rebels in Daraa province of southern Syria, state media said. (READ: Syria rebels blow up Aleppo hotel turned army base)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the bloodshed in Aleppo and said a large-scale army operation was under way in Daraa for control of hills held by rebels. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!