U.N. Food Supplies Fall Short of Critical Demand in Aleppo

The United Nations warned on Wednesday that its food supplies are not enough to feed the remaining 200,000–300,000 people still in Aleppo.

The U.N. and other aid agencies said that they have enough emergency food supplies to feed roughly 145,000 people for the next month, but have no way of bringing in other supplies to Syria’s largest city, according to Reuters.

Clashes between forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and several armed opposition factions have escalated this week as both groups fight for control of Castello Road, the sole supply route into the opposition-held side of the city.

Fighting has made it impossible for humanitarian convoys to reach Aleppo’s besieged civilians as the strategically important road is now “impassable,” according to the U.N. earlier this week.

Food costs have increased significantly since the blockade began earlier this month. The price of a kilo (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes has increased at least five times, according to Reuters.

Russia Accused of Bombing Refugee Camp Near Jordan

Syrian opposition factions and activists accused Russia on Tuesday of bombing a refugee camp near the Jordanian border in eastern Syria.

At least eight people were killed in the airstrike at the camp in Hammad, the desert area on the border between Syria and Jordan, according to one activist who spoke to the Associated Press. Said Seif al Qalamoni, a local activist affiliated with the Free Syrian Army rebel group, told Reuters that the death toll was as high as 15, and that 40 others were wounded.

Seif also claimed that cluster munitions, bombs filled with smaller explosives that scatter over the area they are dropped, were used in the attack.

Russia has yet to respond to the allegations, but this is not the first time Moscow has been accused of bombing refugee camps or of using cluster munitions.

Some 350 displaced families live in the desert area in eastern Syria, according to the BBC.

Shifting Allegiances Between Turkey and Syria

Turkey’s prime minister signaled on Wednesday that Ankara may soon be willing to mend its relationship with its neighbor Syria, according to the Associated Press.

“It is our greatest and irrevocable goal: developing good relations with Syria and Iraq, and all our neighbors that surround the Mediterranean and the Black Sea,” Binali Yildirim said in a televised speech on Wednesday.

The remarks indicate a major shift in Turkey’s policy regarding Damascus. Ankara has previously insisted that the only solution to the Syrian conflict next door would be the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey has also recently moved to mend ties with Russia in a move Ankara said would help find a political solution to the conflict in Syria and help the fight against terrorism, according to Reuters.

“We normalized relations with Russia and Israel. I’m sure we will normalize relations with Syria as well. For the fight against terrorism to succeed, stability needs to return to Syria and Iraq,” Yildirim said.

Recommended Reads:

• American Enterprise Institute: Iran’s Airbridge to Syria
• National Public Radio: The Siege That Keeps a Rebel Town In Syria Desperate for Food Aid
• Syria Direct: ‘We’re Living on the Street:’ Life After Fleeing the Islamic State
• Radio Free Europe: Iran Promotes Its New ‘Martyrs,’ Cementing Role in Syria Fighting
• The Associated Press: Decade After War With Israel, Syria’s War Pulls Hezbollah In