- Title: Beseiged eastern Aleppo 10 days from collapse - White Helmets' chief
- Date: 24th November 2016
- Summary: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (NOVEMBER 24, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF WHITE HELMETS, RAED AL SALEH, SAYING: "Even the U.N. officials themselves, like U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, special envoy (Staffan) de Mistura, and others, they announced that there are war crimes now committed in Syria and I believe the withdrawal of Russia from the International Criminal Court is because it knows it has committed war crimes in Syria and it doesn't want to be accountable for them."
- Embargoed: 9th December 2016 19:00
- Keywords: Syria White Helmets rescue Aleppo Right Livelihood Award
- Location: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN AND SAID TO BE KASSARA, ALEPPO, SAID TO BE IDLIB AND UNKNOWN LOCATION, SYRIA
- City: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN AND SAID TO BE KASSARA, ALEPPO, SAID TO BE IDLIB AND UNKNOWN LOCATION, SYRIA
- Country: Sweden
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA00659T27NR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
The inhabitants of besieged eastern Aleppo have less than 10 days to receive outside aid or face starvation and death from a lack of medical supplies, the head of the Syria Civil Defence, or "White Helmets", said on Thursday (November 24).
The volunteer group that has rescued thousands of people from buildings bombed in the civil war is also running out fast of basic equipment, from trucks to diesel and gas masks, after dealing with a series of suspected chemical attacks in the last few weeks.
"I think even before 10 days we'll start losing people because of the lack of first aid kits and because of starvation for some people," Raed Al Saleh told Reuters through a translator. Saleh was in Stockholm to receive the Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden's "alternative Nobel prize".
Rebels in besieged eastern Aleppo have agreed to a U.N. plan for aid delivery and medical evacuations, but the United Nations is awaiting a green light from Russia and the Syrian government, humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said on Thursday.
With freezing winter conditions setting in, about 275,000 people are trapped in east Aleppo, where the last U.N. food rations were distributed on November 13.
The White Helmets shared the award this year with Egyptian feminist and human rights activist Mozn Hassan, Russia's Svetlana Gannushkina, who campaigns for the rights of migrants and refugees, and independent Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.
The four laureates will share a cash award of 3 million Swedish crowns (352,000 U.S. dollars). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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