LONDON – Humanitarian agencies demanded unconditional
access to all communities in Syria as Russia continued on Wednesday to withdraw
its military forces from the country.

In a joint statement signed by 102 humanitarian
organisations to mark the fifth anniversary of the conflict’s beginning, aid
agencies urged all warring parties that humanitarian access must “include
access to all people in need by whatever routes necessary”.

The statement, signed by the U.N. children’s agency
UNICEF, Oxfam and others, noted “encouraging signs of progress” in
Syria, with the cessation of hostilities, allowing humanitarian agencies to
“rush more food and other relief to communities desperate for help”.

But access has to go beyond a temporary lifting of sieges
and checkpoints, they said.

“Humanitarian access and freedom of movement of
civilians in Syria has to be sustained. It has to be unconditional. And it
should include access to all people in need by whatever routes necessary,”
the signatories wrote.

All humanitarian aid, including medical supplies,
medical staff and aid workers should be given full access to all civilians in
need. There was also an urgent need for a national immunization campaign for
children, the agencies said.

“These are practical actions that would mean the
difference between life and death,” the agencies said.

“All parties to the conflict can agree on them,
now. And in doing so, they can take another step to peace,” they said.

More than 11 million Syrians from a population of nearly
23 million have been forced from their homes during the five-year conflict,
including 4.8 million who have fled the country.

Kevin Jenkins, president of World Vision International,
said there are 13.5 million people in Syria in need of assistance including six
million children and many in hard to reach areas.

Benedict Dempsey, director of policy and advocacy for
Mercy Corps Europe, said the call for unfettered humanitarian access to Syria
is “not new”, adding that four U.N. Security Council resolutions
called for this.

“It is imperative that aid organisations, including
Syrian organisations, have unfettered and sustained access to reach civilians
in need throughout all of Syria swiftly, without restrictions and through the
safest, most direct routes, be they across lines or across borders,” he
said.

– Reuters