Syrians in Qusair running short of bread

Dozens of Syrian residents in the city al-Qusair, bordering Lebanon, patiently line up outside a Bakery on Thursday, to buy flat bread in the winter winds.

The bakery opens for only two hours in the morning and is the sole bakery open to residents, with a limited production produced by smuggled flour across the Lebanese border.

"This bakery here is the only one making bread," said one local resident in the queue. "If I come to this bakery and say I want 10 pieces of bread, they will just give me five pieces. Why? The amount of flour they have is limited; they can't give everyone 10 pieces. There's no one that can take more than five pieces of bread. A lot of people have left, more than half the residents have left and there still isn't enough bread," said a local, who preferred not to be named.

The main bakery closed due to sniper fire position at government locations in the centre of the town.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said early February that Syrians living in areas hit by the conflict between the government and opposition forces are now struggling to find even basic foodstuffs.

"The other thing is the diesel -- children need to keep warm. We can't live under these jackets. What will these children do? Bashar al-Assad put the petrol and diesel in his tanks, he isn't giving it to the citizens," the unnamed local, added.

On Thursday, the United Nations human rights body condemned the Syrian government under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad for violations that it said may amount to crimes against humanity, and called for a halt to attacks on civilians.

The Council said Syrian violations included shelling of civilian areas that has killed "thousands of innocent civilians", executions, the killing and persecution of protesters, the deaths of Syrian and foreign journalists, arbitrary detention and interference with access to medical care.

It voiced strong concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and called for food, medicines and fuel to reach besieged populations.