DAMASCUS, Syria — Government forces and rebels clashed across Syria, and aid groups on Wednesday called on the international community to ensure that supplies reach millions of desperate civilians.
The statement by seven international aid and rights groups said the humanitarian crisis unleashed by the three-year conflict “defies the basic norms of a civilized world.” Activists say the conflict has killed more than 130,000 and forced millions more from their homes. One of the worst-hit areas is the Yarmouk area on the fringe of Damascus, where activists say about 50 people have died of starvation and hunger-related illnesses since the government imposed a blockade on the sprawling district a year ago.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted in the suburbs of Damascus, in the province of Daraa in the south, in Idlib and Aleppo in the north and the central province of Homs, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said.
