Red Cross appeals to Syria for access to wounded

GENEVA—The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed to Syria to grant the neutral body access to those wounded or detained in clashes with security forces.

Jakob Kellenberger, the ICRC president, says the Geneva-based aid group hasn’t been allowed “meaningful access” to those parts of the country where violence is occurring.

He says some limited visits have taken place to Daraa, Tartous and Homs in the past month, but they weren’t sufficient for the Red Cross to carry out its work.

Kellenberger said in a statement Friday: “I stand ready to go to Syria myself to hold talks with the authorities.”

Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have died in the crackdown on anti-government protesters, most of them unarmed civilians.