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• Food shortages are being compounded by an explosion in prices for basic staples, the group said, adding that one in 20 children in areas around the capital of Damascus, is severely malnourished.
• Ever since the conflict erupted in March 2011, leading aid groups have demanded that the warring sides in Syria -- President Bashar Assad's forces and the rebels fighting to overthrow his regime -- enable access to civilians trapped in the fighting. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict and millions have been uprooted from their homes.
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