- Title: Fighting halts food air drops to Syria's Deir-al-Zor - WFP
- Date: 17th January 2017
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (JANUARY 17, 2017) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS BUILDING U.N. BRIEFING IN PROGRESS U.N. STAFF USING LAPTOPS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) SPOKESWOMAN BETTINA LUESCHER SAYING: "We have put on hold the air drop operation on Deir al-Zor for security and operational reasons. There is heavy fighting going on, in and around the landing zone, and in the part of the city were the food distributions are taking place. And WFP (World Food Programme) partners on the ground simply cannot expose the lives of the 60 volunteers who are in that open landing zone and would receive the supplies and distribute them. It's simply too dangerous to do this now." JOURNALISTS USING LAPTOPS (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) SPOKESWOMAN BETTINA LUESCHER SAYING: "Because airdrops only drop off small amounts, you have to keep on doing it on an almost a continuous basis. If we do a convoy, like to the other areas, with one convoy you are able to bring in food for a month; with airdrops, since it's just simply smaller amounts that are being dropped, we have to keep on going continuously. So we hope that we will be able to do this." JOURNALISTS AND U.N. STAFF (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) SPOKESWOMAN BETTINA LUESCHER SAYING: "Winter is here, it is a horribly cold winter, and people are desperate. More than five years of fighting and people are still cut off. So, once again, for the umpteenth time, let us in, let us do our work, it is important. We have food, we have, for the other organizations, all the other supplies people in need have, but of course the situation goes on." U.N. BUILDING
- Embargoed: 31st January 2017 12:02
- Keywords: Syria United Nations Mideast war food World Food Programme Deir-el-Zor
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Government/Politics,United Nations
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ZGZ7EV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday (January 17) it had to temporarily suspend air drops of vital supplies to the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor due to heavy fighting there, without any information on when these airdrops could resume.
"We have put on hold the air drop operation on Deir-al-Zor for security and operational reasons. There is heavy fighting going on, in and around the landing zone, and in the part of the city were the food distributions are taking place and WFP (World Food Programme) partners on the ground simply cannot expose the lives of the 60 volunteers who are in that opened landing zone and would receive the supplies and distribute them. It is simply too dangerous to do this now", WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told reporters in Geneva.
Islamic State has launched its fiercest assault in a year against a besieged Syrian government enclave in the city of Deir al-Zor, trying to cut it off from a nearby military air base in a battle that has killed dozens.
The WFP, whose last drop was on Sunday (January 15), has carried out 177 airdrops for 110,000 people in the city since the beginning of the operation in April.
Luescher did not specify or elaborate on how long the already distributed food would start running out, but said they hoped the air drops could resume as soon as possible.
"Because airdrops only drop off small amounts, you have to keep on doing it on an almost a continuous basis. If we do a convoy, like to the other areas, with one convoy you are able to bring in food for a month; with airdrops, since it's just simply smaller amounts that are being dropped, we have to keep on going continuously. So we hope that we will be able to do this," she said.
As for the rest of Syria, WFP was now able to access people in eastern Aleppo and Idlib, Luescher said.
In eastern Aleppo, where most of the bakeries were destroyed, WFP is providing bread for over 50,000 people who were internally displaced or have returned. They are working with Syrian authorities to restore the bakeries.
WFP also provided ready-to-eat food for about 35,000 people in eastern Aleppo and in the west, have reached 10,000 people.
However, aid convoys are still unable to get into the vast majority of besieged and hard to reach areas.
"Winter is here, it is a horribly cold winter, and people are desperate. More than five years of fighting and people are still cut off. So, once again, for the umpteenth time, let us in, let us do our work, it is important. We have food, we have, for the other organizations, all the other supplies people in need have, but of course the situation goes on," Luescher said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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