Despite U.N. resolution, Syria’s war foes hinder aid access: Ban

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations accused Syria's government and rebels of hindering aid access, suggesting both sides could be violating U.N. Security Council demands that emergency relief reach civilians caught in the crossfire of the three-year civil war. A month after the 15-member council achieved rare unity to unanimously approve a resolution demanding rapid, safe and unhindered aid access, including across borders, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said the situation "remains extremely challenging." In Ban's first report to the council on the implementation of the February 22 resolution – obtained by Reuters on Sunday – he said 175,000 people remain besieged by government forces and 45,000 people trapped by opposition groups in several areas. No new ceasefires were brokered to gain access to these areas and there were breaches of existing ceasefires, Ban said. Some 9.3 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance, Ban said, while another 2.6 million have fled the three-year civil war, sparked in March 2011 by a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.