Children in the Syrian city of Aleppo are at “grave risk” of disease unless water supplies are immediately repaired, the UN children’s agency says.
The United Nations says an immediate pause in fighting is needed to allow the water and electricity networks to be fixed.
Some two million people are without vital supplies, the UN says.
Fighting between government forces and rebels has intensified in recent weeks.
At least 250,000 people are believed to have been trapped in rebel-held areas of eastern Aleppo since a key route into the area was closed by government forces in early July.
On Sunday, rebels cut off the government’s key access route into western Aleppo.
They have since come under intense air bombardment from pro-government forces. Media captionOne of the few doctors remaining in Aleppo reveals how medics and civilians face death in the city on daily basis.
Unicef said the whole city had been without running water for four days.
“Children and families in Aleppo are facing a catastrophic situation,” said Hanaa Singer, Unicef’s representative in Syria.
“These cuts are coming amid a heatwave, putting children at a grave risk of waterborne diseases. Getting clean water running again cannot wait for the fighting to stop. Children’s lives are in serious danger.”
Temperatures have hit 40C (104F) in the city this week.
The UN echoed Unicef’s concerns, and said only a full-fledged ceasefire or weekly 48-hour humanitarian pauses would enable them to reach everyone in need and replenish the “dangerously low” food and medicine stocks.
“The targeting of hospitals and clinics continues unabated, seriously jeopardising the health and welfare of all citizens of Aleppo,” said Yacoub el-Hillo, UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Syria, and Kevin Kennedy, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis.
Aleppo was once Syria’s commercial capital and also boasted a rich architectural and archaeological heritage.
Much of it has been destroyed or looted during more than five years of war.
Meanwhile More than two million people in Syria’s Aleppo are in danger of coming under total siege, the United Nations has warned, calling for immediate access to the heavily bombed city.
Ferocious fighting has rocked divided Aleppo in recent weeks, with rebels and regime forces seizing rival access routes and cutting off residents.
In a statement on Monday, the UN’s top humanitarian official in Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, and regional coordinator Kevin Kennedy called for a “humanitarian pause” in the hostilities.
Two million people in the city are living in fear of besiegement, including up to 275,000 people trapped in east Aleppo, the statement said. The fighting in Aleppo is reported to have killed at least 130 civilians since the end of July, and has damaged hospitals, clinics, and the city’s power and water networks.
“The UN stands ready to assist the civilian population of Aleppo, a city now united in its suffering,” the statement read. “At a minimum, the UN requires a full-fledged ceasefire or weekly 48-hour humanitarian pauses to reach the millions of people in need throughout Aleppo and replenish the food and medicine stocks, which are running dangerously low.”
