UN calls for urgent evacuation of 137 sick Syrian children

Beirut — The United Nations children's agency says 137 children stranded in a rebel-held suburb near the Syrian capital require immediate medical evacuation amid a crippling siege in which five have died from a lack of medical care.

Unicef says in a statement on Sunday that during a rare international aid convoy to a neighborhood in the besieged eastern Ghouta district at the end of November, its aid workers described one of the worst health and nutrition situations since the conflict began in 2011.

Unicef says 137 children, aged between 7 months to 17-years, require immediate medical evacuation for conditions that include kidney failure, severe malnutrition and conflict wounds.

Eastern Ghouta, home to 400 000, has witnessed a tightening siege since 2013. A government bombing campaign killed over 200 people since November14, according to activists.