Syria Conflict -BBC News

Syria conflict: 

Dozens killed 

as IS attacks 

Deir al-Zour

We Want Peace ~ 

We absolutely want to find World Peace!

Russia said it was dropping aid to trapped civilians in the city 

Dozens of people have died in an offensive by so-called Islamic State on government-held areas of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, local media say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 85 civilians were killed in the attack, as well as 50 Syrian soldiers.

Syria's state news agency Sana reported that around 300 civilians had died in the Baghaliyeh area of the city.

Meanwhile, the UN warned of "sharply deteriorating conditions" in the besieged areas.

Around 200,000 people were in these areas, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

• Dawn assault

The IS assault on government-held areas in the city began at dawn on Saturday, Syria's Local Coordination Committees (LCC) said.
A car bomb explosion was followed by a ground attack, the LCC said.
Government forces retaliated with air strikes and heavy artillery, the report said.
Russia said it had dropped aid to civilians caught up in the siege. There have also been reports of Russian airstrikes in the vicinity.

Map showing besieged parts of Syria

Source: United Nations, Institute for the Study of War         BBC

According to the Syrian observatory, IS now controls around 60% of the city.
More than 250,000 people have been killed and millions displaced after almost five years of conflict in Syria.
Blockades have been a feature of Syria's civil war. Up to 4.5 million people live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to life-saving aid.

• Towns under siege 

March 2015: Foah and Kefraya in Idlib province are besieged by rebel groups and the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, with an estimated 12,500 trapped.
July 2015: Madaya, near Damascus, is besieged by government forces and their allies in Lebanon's Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement.
September 2015: The situation in Foah and Kefraya worsens after the fall of a nearby government air base, where helicopters had been able to land with food supplies. Reports emerge of people eating grass to survive.
October 2015: UN delivers one month's supply of food rations for 20,000 people in Madaya.
December 2015: Dozens of wounded civilians and fighters evacuated from Foah, Kefraya, Zabadani and Madaya. Reports begin to emerge of people starving in Madaya.
January 2016: UN says it has received credible reports of people dying of starvation in Madaya. Warns of "sharply deteriorating" conditions in parts of Deir al-Zor

• What's happening in Syria?

More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives in almost five years of conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a brutal civil war. More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from Islamic State.

• Why are civilians under siege?

All parties to the conflict are using siege warfare, encircling populated areas, preventing civilians from leaving and blocking humanitarian access in an attempt to force opponents to surrender. Shortages of food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel have led to malnutrition and deaths among vulnerable groups.

• Where are the sieges?

Government forces are besieging various locations in the eastern Ghouta area, outside Damascus, as well as the capital's western suburb of Darayya and the nearby mountain towns of Zabadani and Madaya. Rebel forces have encircled the villages of Foah and Kefraya in the northern province of Idlib, while IS militants are besieging government-held areas in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.

We Want Peace ~ 

We absolutely want to find World Peace!

- The Peace Line

Event for Families Separated by the Korean War

Korean families divided 

By the Korean War 

Reunite in the North Korea

The two Korea remain technically at war 

as the Korean War only ended in an armistice

The reunions are taking place at a resort on Mount Kumgang in North Korea 

Hundreds of South Koreans have begun meeting family members in the North Korea in a rare reunion event for families separated by the Korean War.

South Korean Jung-sook Lee wipes tears
from her North Korean father's face
during the farewell session

The reunion, comprising a series of meetings over a week, is being held at a Mount Kumgang resort, at the border.

Thousands of families have been apart with little or no contact since the war ended in 1953.

Reunions have been held sporadically since 1988 and depend on the state of relations between the two countries.

The last reunion was held in February 2014.

This year's meeting comes after an agreement in August that de-escalated tensions sparked by a border explosion that injured South Korean soldiers.

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Stephen Evans, BBC News, Seoul
Lee Taek-gu is 89 years old and he will meet his sister who is 20 years younger. He last saw her when she was a tiny girl and he a young man who got on a boat to flee south, thinking he would come back after the war.
Since then, he has been writing letters to his parents knowing he would never send them because there is no postal service between the two halves of Korea. He wrote them as therapy for his grief.
He told the BBC he would simply thank his sister for being alive. They would talk about their parents who are now dead. He has got his best jacket cleaned and spruced up for the occasion and bought a smart new hat.
The human drama of Korean family reunions

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Some of those at the reunion saw family members
for the first time in more than 50 years

The meetings, organised by the Red Cross, are hugely popular with tens of thousands signing up, but few on each side get chosen and they tend to be elderly.

In South Korea participants are picked at random by a computer which takes into account their age and family background.

They also have to sit for interviews and take medical examinations to determine if they are fit to travel.

The first group of about 400 South Koreans, comprising of chosen participants and their accompanying family members, are taking part in the first round of meetings running from Tuesday to Thursday, reported Yonhap news agency.

North Korean Kyong Muk Sin, 82, gets a cheerful lift
from his Southern relative Wu-il Jeong 

Another 250 will attend the second round of meetings from Saturday to next Monday. Each round comprises of six two-hour sessions.

Many of those attending from South Korea are bringing gifts for their North Korean relatives such as clothes, food, toothpaste, and cash.

The two Korea remain technically at war as the Korean War only ended in an armistice.

The family reunions began in 2000 and have since been carried out sporadically.

But they depend hugely on the state of relations, and the North is known to have cancelled a few at moments of tension. The last was held in February 2014.

Event for Families Separated
by the Korean War
from BBC News