In a grim report to the UN Security Council on Oct. 25, Valerie Amos, United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, described conditions in Syria as a “race against time,” providing another tragic litany of the toll of the war on Syria, including the potential for the first polio outbreak there in 14 years.
Amos’ testimony comes as Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League joint representative for Syria, is on a regional diplomatic tour including, so far, stops in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Iran, and en route to Syria, in preparation for the Geneva II conference.
