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Assad: A neutral Red Cross is welcome
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2012, Wednesday
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SYRIAN President Bashar Assad told the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in talks in Damascus yesterday that the group is welcome to operate on the ground in the country as long as it remains "neutral and independent."
ICRC spokewoman Rabab al-Rafai did not give further details about Assad's meeting with Peter Maurer, but said the Red Cross chief later met with Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad and was also holding talks with the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
"President Assad confirmed Syria welcomes the humanitarian operations that the organization is conducting on the ground in Syria as long as it works in a neutral and independent way," the state-run SANA news agency reported.
Maurer's three-day visit, which began on Monday, comes as the need for humanitarian assistance in Syria has grown increasingly urgent with the fighting having spread to the country's two largest cities - the capital Damascus and the commercial hub of Aleppo. Activists say August was the bloodiest month since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, with about 5,000 people killed.
The escalating bloodshed has prompted a growing exodus by Syrians looking to escape the conflict.
The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, said yesterday that 100,000 refugees fled Syria to neighboring countries in August, the highest monthly toll since the crisis began. In Geneva, agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the rise in people seeking asylum in neighboring countries brings the total of Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration with the UNHCR to 234,368 as of September 2.
The Red Cross said earlier that during his trip Maurer would address the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation" and the difficulties which the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent face in reaching people affected by the civil war.
"At a time when more and more civilians are being exposed to extreme violence, it is of the utmost importance that we and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent succeed in significantly scaling up our humanitarian response," Maurer said in comments made before his arrival in Syria. "An adequate humanitarian response is required to keep pace with needs, which have been growing exponentially."
Meanwhile, Abdul-Qadir Saleh, the commander of the Tawhid Brigade that is spearheading the Aleppo offensive, said yesterday that rebels now control most of the city.
ICRC spokewoman Rabab al-Rafai did not give further details about Assad's meeting with Peter Maurer, but said the Red Cross chief later met with Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad and was also holding talks with the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
"President Assad confirmed Syria welcomes the humanitarian operations that the organization is conducting on the ground in Syria as long as it works in a neutral and independent way," the state-run SANA news agency reported.
Maurer's three-day visit, which began on Monday, comes as the need for humanitarian assistance in Syria has grown increasingly urgent with the fighting having spread to the country's two largest cities - the capital Damascus and the commercial hub of Aleppo. Activists say August was the bloodiest month since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, with about 5,000 people killed.
The escalating bloodshed has prompted a growing exodus by Syrians looking to escape the conflict.
The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, said yesterday that 100,000 refugees fled Syria to neighboring countries in August, the highest monthly toll since the crisis began. In Geneva, agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the rise in people seeking asylum in neighboring countries brings the total of Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration with the UNHCR to 234,368 as of September 2.
The Red Cross said earlier that during his trip Maurer would address the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation" and the difficulties which the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent face in reaching people affected by the civil war.
"At a time when more and more civilians are being exposed to extreme violence, it is of the utmost importance that we and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent succeed in significantly scaling up our humanitarian response," Maurer said in comments made before his arrival in Syria. "An adequate humanitarian response is required to keep pace with needs, which have been growing exponentially."
Meanwhile, Abdul-Qadir Saleh, the commander of the Tawhid Brigade that is spearheading the Aleppo offensive, said yesterday that rebels now control most of the city.
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