UN aid chief Amos in Syria
- 12 years ago
(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)
United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos held talks in the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday, and is on her way to the devastated city of Homs, a UN spokeswoman said.
Amos, who was denied entry to Syria last week, arrived in the country on a three-day mission to try to persuade authorities to grant unhindered access for aid workers to deliver life-saving assistance to civilians.
The world body has been shut out of Syria, where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only international agency allowed to deploy aid workers and provide food and medical supplies.
But Syrian authorities continue to bar the ICRC from the embattled Homs district of Baba Amr, where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced alarm at grisly reports that government forces have executed, imprisoned and tortured people.
An ICRC aid convoy has been waiting to enter Baba Amr since last Friday, a day after rebel fighters fled the area following nearly a month of shelling by Syrian forces.
United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos held talks in the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday, and is on her way to the devastated city of Homs, a UN spokeswoman said.
Amos, who was denied entry to Syria last week, arrived in the country on a three-day mission to try to persuade authorities to grant unhindered access for aid workers to deliver life-saving assistance to civilians.
The world body has been shut out of Syria, where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only international agency allowed to deploy aid workers and provide food and medical supplies.
But Syrian authorities continue to bar the ICRC from the embattled Homs district of Baba Amr, where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced alarm at grisly reports that government forces have executed, imprisoned and tortured people.
An ICRC aid convoy has been waiting to enter Baba Amr since last Friday, a day after rebel fighters fled the area following nearly a month of shelling by Syrian forces.