30/01/2014 10:17
Aid blocked to besieged Syrians
A U.N. convoy carrying food for the people of the old Syrian city of Homs is waiting to be allowed passage, as residents plead for the government to end a siege that's been starving them for nearly 600 days, CNN reported.
"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go in as soon as all sides allow it," said Dina Elkassaby with the U.N. World Food Program.
Those left behind in Homs have little food and haven't seen bread in months. They also live under the constant threat of shelling.
"The aid is just outside. It needs to come in. We need food and water because we have small children," a mother tells an opposition activist in an interview obtained by CNN. She sits in her simple living room with her child and husband by her side.
Diplomats at the Geneva 2 peace negotiations in the Swiss city reached a yet-to-be-executed deal to evacuate some women and children, United Nations mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said.
But for this Homs family, leaving is not an option.
"If my wife leaves and my baby leaves, am I expected to stay here? What will I do if I stay here? The government already thinks we are terrorists. That won't work," the husband said in the interview.
The United Nations estimates that it will need to feed about 2,500 people if the convoy gets permission to enter Homs.
"WFP has prepared 500 family rations right now. Each ration has enough for five people," Elkassaby said.