UNICEF, Syrian government agree to expand humanitarian operations to conflict areas

UNICEF and the Syrian government have agreed to expand humanitarian efforts in the country, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and up to one million people displaced since the beginning of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad 18 months ago, Reuters reports. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake "said the agency's agreement with Syria will allow it to go beyond its Damascus operations to reach Syrians in conflict areas" and the agency "aims to vaccinate within a couple of months one million vulnerable children against diseases such as measles, he added," the news service notes. "The deal will expand UNICEF's partnership with more than 40 Syrian civil groups and the Syrian Red Crescent, he said," Reuters adds (Al-Khalidi, 10/8). U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "on Tuesday urged President Bashar al-Assad's government to institute a unilateral ceasefire, and further stressed the need for other nations to halt arms deliveries to both Syrian forces and the opposition," according to VOA's "Breaking News" blog (10/9).