‘Remove Berlin Wall blocking Syria aid’

Warring Syrian parties expected in Geneva for peace talks this week must agree to "tear down the Berlin Wall" blocking aid workers from reaching besieged Syrians, a senior humanitarian leader urged on Tuesdat.

Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, and UN officials said they were willing to talk with any faction, including the Islamic State group (IS), if it helped deliver life-saving aid to victims of the conflict.

Peace talks, delayed by disputes over the make-up of the opposition delegation, are due to open on Friday.

United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is brokering the negotiations, has said that securing space for humanitarian workers was a top priority, with an estimated 4.5 million people living in besieged or restricted areas without regular access to aid.

Egeland, a former UN under-secretary general, said government and rebel forces could immediately pave the way for massive aid deliveries if they stopped playing "games." 

He urged the rival parties to "tear down the Berlin Wall of hindrances they have built between us who can help and millions of defenceless civilians in the conflict zones."  "We need agreed nation-wide humanitarian pauses and ceasefires now," Egeland said. "It can be done from Geneva starting this weekend."  With the wrangling over the opposition delegation persisting, the UN noted that millions of Syrians who need emergency aid are in areas controlled by IS.