UN pulls Aleppo monitors
TALK RADIO NEWS SERVICE
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations mission to Syria Tuesday withdrew all of its observers for the embattled city of Aleppo, as Assad government forces and rebel groups continued to clash for control of Syria’s most populated urban center.
“We have pulled out the entire team of observers from Aleppo today due to the deteriorating security situation there in the city,” Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the UN Supervision Mission in Syria said.”This is a temporary move back to Damascus and we still hope to return the team when the security situation allows.”
Aleppo, which was one of four regional bases for the UNSMIS teams, has experienced escalated shelling in recent days, reportedly killing hundreds over the past two weeks. It is currently the center of intense combat between Government and opposition forces, involving heavy weaponry and aerial bombardments.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) reported Tuesday that Syria is experiencing critical shortages in medicines and pharmaceutical products.
“The recent escalation of clashes had resulted in substantial damages to the pharmaceutical plants located in rural Aleppo, Homs and Rural Damascus, where 90 per cent of the country’s plants were located,” Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesperson, told reporters in Geneva Tuesday. “Many of these plants had now closed down, thus resulting in a critical shortage of medicines.”
The UN Security Council has yet to agree on the future of the UN presence in Syria, which expires August 20, although Western Council members have indicated they would not renew the mission.
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Posted by Gary
on Aug 7 2012. Filed under Breaking News, Military, World.
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