Nearly 3.5 million civilians in Syria have virtually no access to desperately-needed humanitarian aid, and people are dying needlessly every day as violence and extremism escalate and the risk of sectarian violence grows, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said.

In a report to the UN Security Council, the secretary-general criticised both the Syrian government and rebel forces for their failure to implement a UN resolution adopted in February.

The resolution is aimed at eliminating obstacles to deliver food, medicine and other essentials to millions of civilians caught up in the three-year civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people.

It demanded that all parties, especially the Syrian government, promptly allow safe access for humanitarian aid across conflict lines and borders, and called on both sides to immediately lift sieges of populated areas and stop depriving civilians of food.

The security situation is deteriorating and humanitarian access to those most in need is not improving

It also demanded a halt to indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombardment, including the use of barrel bombs in populated areas and the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Syria.

“Two months since the adoption of Security Council resolution 2139, none of the parties to the conflict have adhered to the demands of the council,” Ban said.

“The security situation is deter-iorating and humanitarian access to those most in need is not improving. Thousands of people are not getting the medical care, including life-saving medicine, that they need. ... Almost 3.5 million civilians remain largely without access to essential goods and services.”

The secretary-general said the council’s call on both sides to lift the sieges of populated areas “has not been heard and I consider it shameful that nearly a quarter of a million people are being deliberately forced to live under such conditions”.

Ban reported indiscriminate aerial bombardments by the government and mortar attacks and shelling by armed opposition groups, and said “foreign fighters continue to support all sides to the Syrian conflict, including extremist groups, armed opposition groups and the government”.

He said the Security Council, deeply divided over Syria but united to adopt the February resolution, “must take action to deal with these flagrant violations ... of international law”.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.