BEIRUT (Dispatches) – The World Food Programme has warned that hunger rates in Syria have soared to record highs after more than a decade of devastating foreign-backed conflict and biting Western sanctions.
A brutal war that triggered years of economic crisis and damaged vital infrastructure has put 2.9 million at risk of sliding into hunger, while another 12 million do not know where their next meal is coming from, the UN agency said.
“Hunger soars to 12-year high in Syria,” as 70 percent of the population might soon be “unable to put food on the table for their families,” the statement said.
“Syria now has the sixth highest number of food insecure people in the world,” the WFP added, with food prices increasing nearly 12-fold in three years.
Child and maternal malnutrition are also “increasing at a speed never seen before,” in more than a decade of war.
If the international community does not step up to help Syrians, it risks facing “another wave of mass migration,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley during a visit to Syria this week.
“Is that what the international community wants?” he asked, urging donor countries to redouble efforts to “avert this looming catastrophe.”
UN human rights experts have already warned about the deleterious impacts of the Western sanctions against Syria, saying the ongoing unilateral coercive measures have caused dire humanitarian consequences for Syrian citizens who are seeking to rebuild their lives.
Alena Douhan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, in November last year called for the removal of sanctions against Syria, warning that they were perpetuating and exacerbating the destruction and trauma suffered by the Syrian nation since the onset of the foreign-sponsored conflict in March 2011.
“I am struck by the pervasiveness of the human rights and humanitarian impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria and the total economic and financial isolation of a country whose people are struggling to rebuild a life with dignity, following the decade-long war,” Douhan said in a statement following her 12-day visit to Syria.
Douhan said 90 percent of Syria’s population was currently living below the poverty line, with limited access to food, water, electricity, shelter, cooking and heating fuel, transportation and healthcare; and warned that the country was facing a massive brain-drain due to growing economic hardship.
Syria has been in the throes of foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. While the Daesh terrorist group was crushed by the Syrian government, the militant groups continue to hold sway in some parts of the country under the patronage of Western powers.
Numerous reports have pointed to the US’ role in transferring Daesh terrorists to the war-ravaged country and even airlifting supplies to the group.
Last year, the U.S. government imposed sweeping economic sanctions against Syria amid the Arab nation’s uphill battle for reconstruction and recovery.
The controversial Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, signed into law by former President Donald Trump, targeted individuals and businesses anywhere in the world that participated either directly or indirectly in Syria’s economy.
The restrictive measures have blocked imports of essential goods, affecting the Syrian people’s access to medical equipment, food, heating, gas, and electricity.