LOC15:00
12:00 GMT
GENEVA, June 4 (KUNA) -- The senior spokesperson of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Geneva Herve Verhoosel on Tuesday said, "The latest outbreak in violence in Idlib and north Hama has left dozens of casualties, burned several thousand acres of vital crops and farmland".
"The violence in this region forced at least 300,000 people to flee their homes. Most have searched for shelter in overcrowded camps in north Idlib, while others have fled to north/west Aleppo," he added in a press briefing in the UN office in Geneva.
Verhoosel explained that as part of its emergency response, WFP has reached 200,000 newly displaced people with ready to eat food rations.
"Three million people are currently living in the Northwest cross-border area of North Hama, Idlib and rural western Aleppo, stuck in the middle of conflict and reachable only through entry via Turkey," he said.
WFP has been providing deliveries of monthly food rations to 700,000 people in the Northwest region to-date.
Following the escalation of violence in Idlib and north Hama and subsequent displacement, WFP plans to scale up to reach 823,000 people this month across North Hama, Idlib and rural western Aleppo with monthly food assistance in addition to the emergency response to 200,000 newly displaced with ready to eat rations.
In the areas where bombardment continues, which is mainly in north Hama and south Idlib, WFP has had to suspend its deliveries to some towns caught in the middle of the conflict and where security is volatile.
As of now, we are unable to reach 7,000 people living in the area of Madiq Castle in Hama since the bombardment began
It is unfortunate to see the escalation in violence in the northwest reaching such drastic levels. Not only are people displaced, lives lost but now farmlands vital for the food security of the region - crops such as barley, wheat, and vegetables - have been destroyed.
Destruction to farmland and the agricultural sector is unacceptable. These crops burning and damage to land and livelihoods will disrupt the sensitive food production cycles and could aggravate the food security situation in the northwest for the near future. Farmers are no longer able to access their fields or tend to their remaining crops during this harvest season, which runs until mid-June.
It is important to point out that the burning is affected by other factors such as high-temperatures in the region. Farmlands in other governorates where there is no active conflict have been affected by burning, mainly Al-Hassakah, Deir Ezzor and Homs. So far, across Syria less than 5 percent of the current crops have been damaged.
Right now fuel is extremely difficult to get in areas close to where the conflict is taking place. Not only that but many farmers and their families have lost their livelihoods and farms, which were burned in the conflict.
WFP calls on all parties to the conflict to respect civilian life and infrastructure and allow humanitarians safe access to those who need our continued food assistance.
According to the UN, poverty is prevalent among 75 percent of the population of Syrians inside Syria.
Poor families spend 80 per cent of their income on food.
"This is why food assistance is vital here. Currently WFP assists more than 3.5 million people every month across all of Syria with monthly food rations," Verhoosel said. (end)
ta.gta