The Guardian: UN Calls for Access to Stranded Syrians

The United Nations has requested access to nearly 250,000 stranded Syrians who fled rebel-controlled sectors of Deraa in the midst of an incursion by Syrian military forces. As Kareem Shaheen reports for the Guardian, “government forces are expected to turn to Idlib in the north, where Islamist militias and al-Qaida-linked militants control territory hosting more than two million internally displaced people.” Meanwhile, the theme of displacement continues to underscore the Syrian civil war. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 234,000 people have fled the violence in southern Syria since mid-June. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the refugee situation remains “dire.” Many Syrians are “without shelter or protection from desert heat and winds, and food supplies” have “dwindled.” Humanitarian agencies continue to call for the passage of aid deliveries to civilians. International support for the revolution against the brutal al Assad regime in Syria has faded. –YaleGlobal