WFP Warns 2.2 Million More Syrians Risk Hunger amid Western Sanctions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Around 2.2 million Syrians risk joining the fast swelling ranks of the hungry and poor in the war-torn country, the World Food Program warned Monday.
"Without urgent help 2.2 million more could slip further into hunger and poverty," WFP said in a statement on Twitter.
The UN agency said in May that a record 9.3 million people in Syria were food insecure, as spiraling prices and the novel coronavirus pandemic compound the damage of the country's nine-year civil war, AFP reported.
That figure had leapt from 7.9 million six months earlier.
Most of Syria's population lives in poverty as a result of Western nations’ intervention, according to the United Nations, and food prices have doubled over the past year.
Damascus is in great need of its major oil deposits in order to address its energy needs and rebuild the country amid crippling Western sanctions.
The Arab country has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that have been wreaking havoc in the country.
The Arab country is currently extracting oil at only 10 percent of its pre-war capacity.
