The UAE has expressed its grave concern at the tragic humanitarian situation in the Syrian city of Halab (Aleppo) and condemned the targeting of the civilian population amid reports of the blocking of much needed humanitarian assistance from reaching besieged people, particularly in the eastern side of the city. ''The UAE backs the United Nations proposal for cessation of military acts for 48 hours to allow delivery of humanitarian assistance to the trapped civilian population, and calls on the international community to give the humanitarian situation in the city a top priority,'' the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement today. The ministry said the UAE was closely following the ongoing United States, Russian contacts regarding the situation in Syria and hopes these efforts would succeed in ending the prolonged suffering of the Syrian people. ''The UAE, while condemning the siege laid on the city by the Syrian regime and the unfolding tragedies, reaffirms the importance of the political solution in Syria according to the Geneva 1 reference and emphasizes that there is no military solution in Syria, and the absence of this conviction by the parties concerned will only prolong the Syrian tragedy and exacerbate the suffering of the Syrian people,'' the statement concluded.
