Source : islam.ru / 20 Apr 2013

Reconstruction of Syria after bloody conflict between the government and the armed opposition will take decades. This opinion was expressed at a meeting with journalists by the director of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs / OCHA / John Ging, who returned from a ten days trip in the region.

"It will take decades. Streets and districts of cities destroyed. Residential areas of Syria were fired by heavy military equipment: tanks, artillery. There are many buildings which are not be repaired, we can only demolish them and build new, "-John Ging said answering question of ITAR-TASS.

According to him, the country is retarded in development for ten years. Virtually infrastructure is fully destroyed, factories and offices are looted, schools and hospitals are not working. According to Ging, the most difficult situation is in the city of Deraa, from which anti-government protests began in 2011, and also in Aleppo, which before the war was considered the economic capital of Syria.

Aleppo is actually divided into two parts: in the territory which is under government-control, stores are open where you can buy essential goods and there is electricity for a few hours a day, while in other areas the situation is close to a humanitarian catastrophe. "There's no light, the telephone connection is disconnected both stationary and mobile, water is supplied once in several days," - the representative of OCHA said.

The situation in Aleppo which is located in the north of the country, causes special anxiety to UN. The city is located within an hour's drive from the border with Iraq, but the Syrian government allows to bring in humanitarian aid only through Damascus, which is far from Aleppo by 54 army posts and rebels, Ging said. According to him, if the Syrian government does not agree to make concessions in this regard, the Security Council of the UN should intervene in the situation.