No more water for war-ravaged Aleppo in Syria: Unicef

Geneva, Aug 9 (IANS) The UN Children's Fund on Tuesday warned that two million people living in Syria's Aleppo city have been cut off from water supplies following attacks on the electricity transmission station that pumped water to the war-torn city.

"Children and families in Aleppo are facing a catastrophic situation. These cuts are coming amid a heat wave, putting children at a grave risk of waterborne diseases," Xinhua news agency quoted Unicef's representative in Syria Hanaa Singer as saying.

"Getting clean water running again cannot wait for the fighting to stop. Children's lives are in serious danger," she said.

Though authorities managed to put in place a power line on August 4, the alternative network was damaged by fighting less than a day after water supplies were restored, Unicef explained.

Unicef stressed that urgent repairs to water-pumping facilities were needed since this was the only way to restore critical supplies to the people.

If this is not done, residents will have no choice but to resort to risky practises, such as drinking water from wells which may be contaminated by faecal matter rendering it unsafe to drink, Unicef said.

"We urge parties to the conflict to immediately allow safe access for technicians to conduct critical repairs to the electricity and water systems," said Singer.