Rebels have retaliated by closing water pumps for government-held areas of Aleppo, affecting 1.5 million people. The UN has called on all parties to "stop attacks on water infrastructure," considered a war crime.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/I. Ebu Leys
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The Russia-backed Syrian army on Saturday continued its aerial campaign on rebel-held areas of Aleppo, targeting the water supplies, according to the UN.
"Intense attacks last night have damaged the Bab al-Nayrad water pumping station, which supplies water to some 250,000 people in the eastern parts of Aleppo. Violence is preventing repair teams from reaching the station," said UNICEF's Syria representative Hanaa Singer.
The UNICEF official noted that rebels retaliated by switching off the main pumping station to western areas of the city, effectively cutting off water to 1.5 million people.
"In the eastern part, the population will have to resort to highly contaminated well water. In the western part, existing deep ground water wells will provide a safe alternative," Singer added.
UNICEF called on the conflict's parties to "stop attacks on water infrastructure," which is considered a war crime, according to additional protocol of the Geneva Conventions.
Syria has witnessed an escalation of violence across the country, with intense fighting between regime forces and rebel factions concentrated in Aleppo.
Flight and Arrival
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Imminent ground invasion
Government forces on Thursday announced "the start of its operations in the eastern district of Aleppo," calling on civilians to stay clear of areas near "the headquarters and positions of armed terrorist gangs."
Damascus uses the term "terrorists" to describe anti-government forces, including US-backed rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian military officials declared the army's intent to launch a "ground invasion" of the country's second city in the wake of a ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow that collapsed earlier this week.
"All Aleppo teams and volunteers active across the city - hundreds trapped under rubble from indiscriminate airstrikes. Hospitals (are) overwhelmed," said Aleppo's civil defense rescue services The White Helmets in a tweet on Saturday. Airstrikes - apparently by Russian aircraft - destroyed three of the civil defense's four centers in Aleppo on Friday.
White Helmets chief Ammar al-Selmo said more than 100 people had been killed since the Syrian army's latest campaign in Aleppo.
More than 300,000 people have been killed and half the population displaced since the conflict erupted in 2011, when government forces launched a crackdown on protesters calling for Assad to step down.
The long trip to Europe from the refugees' perspective
A boy who is soaking wet, volunteers entertaining children, moments of danger and of joy: #RefugeeCameras shows images taken during the journey to Europe. It is the subject of a new exhibition in Hamburg.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Leaving home - for good?
Zakaria received his camera on December 8 in Izmir, Turkey - one of the key hubs for refugees. The Syrian fled from the "Islamic State" terror militia and the government, according to McElvaney's #RefugeeCamera project. Out of safety concerns, Zakaria doesn't name his hometown. In his flight diary, Zakaria writes that only God knows if he will ever be able to return to Syria.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Rough dinghy ride
Zakaria documented his sea journey from Turkey to Chios. He was sitting in the back of his dinghy. At the Hamburg exhibition, which opens this weekend, the refugees' images will be complemented by a selection of shots taken by professionals, who helped to shape the representation of escape routes in the media. They all donated their works in order to support the project.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Perilous arrival
Hamza and Abdulmonem, both from Syria, photographed the perilous landing of their dinghy on a Greek island. There were no volunteers to offer them support. That is exactly what McElvaney had in mind when he launched #RefugeeCameras. So far, he says, the media have offered a "visual blank" in this respect.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Surviving the sea
After the landing, a young boy in wet clothes and life jacket stands on the pebbled beach. The image brings to mind Aylan Kurdi, the small Syrian boy whose lifeless body was washed ashore on a Turkish beach in September. The child in this picture made it to Europe alive. What became of him is not known.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Seven cameras returned
Hamza and Abdulmonem also took this slightly blurred snapshot of the refugee group taking a break. McElvaney handed out 15 disposable cameras in total. Seven of them were returned, one was lost, two were confiscated, two remain in Izmir, where their holders are still stranded. The remaining three cameras are unaccounted for - just like their owners.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Family in focus
Dyab, a math teacher from Syria, tried to capture some of the better moments of his journey to Germany. Pictured here are his wife and his young son, Kerim, who shows us the packet of biscuits he was given in a Macedonian refugee camp. The images reveal Dyab's deep affection for his son, McElvaney says: "He wants to take care of him, even on this arduous trip which he was forced to take."
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
From Iran to Hanau
The story of Saeed, from Iran, is a different one. The young man had to leave the country after converting to Christianity. He could have been arrested or even killed. In order to be accepted as a refugee, he pretended to be Afghan. After his arrival in Germany, he explained his situation to the authorities' satisfaction. He now lives - as an Iranian - in Hanau, Hesse.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Beyond selfies
Saeed took this picture of a Syrian father and his child on a bus from Athens to Idomeni.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
More than status
In another snapshot taken by Saeed, a volunteer working in a refugee camp somewhere between Croatia and Slovenia entertains a group of children, who try to imitate his tricks.
