More than 500,000 in Syria without food aid: WFP

The World Food Programme said Monday insecurity in Syria was cutting off half a million people from the food aid they need, while a lack of funds has also forced the UN food agency to slash rations. Three years into Syria's bloody civil war, the WFP said in recent weeks it had reached a number of areas in the governorates of Damascus, Homs, Raqqa and Daraa that had long remained inaccessible.
But while providing food to some 71,500 people who had not received assistance in months, widespread insecurity had prevented deliveries to another 500,000 people in desperate need, the WFP said in a report. "On-off convoys into besieged areas can provide temporary relief but WFP still needs proper and sustained access to people to provide life-saving assistance and also to assess the scale of the needs," said WFP deputy chief Amir Abdulla.