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UN relief chief urges world to act on Syrians' suffering

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IANS United Nations
Last Updated : Oct 21 2014 | 6:45 AM IST

The UN under-secretary- general for humanitarian affairs, Valerie Amos has urged the world to "remember the suffering of the Syrian people and act", UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

Amos, who is also the UN emergency relief coordinator, met Sunday displaced Syrians at the Yibo Transit Center in Suruc, southern Turkey, close to the border with Syria, Xinhua quoted Dujarric as saying at a daily news briefing here.

The center shelters 5,000 people -- half of them children -- who have fled from Syria, Dujarric said, adding that Amos told the press in Ankara, capital of Turkey, Monday and emphasised that the people she saw need shelter and other help.

"She also emphasised the need for a political solution in Syria, " he said.

Turkey is one of Syria's neighboring countries which received a massive influx of Syrian refugees, who fled the conflicts in the Middle East country following the outbreak of a political crisis in March 2011. The other countries are Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

According to the spokesman, inside Syria, nearly 11 million people need aid. The crisis is becoming even more acute with the onset of winter.

Amos also underscored the need for continued and unhindered access for aid workers in Syria so that they can deliver much needed assistance.

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First Published: Oct 21 2014 | 6:40 AM IST

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