UN says half a million need aid in Raqqa, Syria

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said half a million people near Raqqa, Syria need aid.

Raqqa is the last major ISIS stronghold in Syria, and fighting there is fierce. Kurdish troops attack on land while U.S. airstrikes rain down death from above.

Because the battle has raged so long, many residents have been forced to flee. Some have had to travel from one refugee camp to another.

The U.N. faces two major problems: money and politics.

The budget for aid is $153 million. Only $29 million has been delivered. On that limited budget the U.N. has been able to feed 55,000 people—a fraction of those in need.

Turkey considers the Kurdish soldiers to be as bad as ISIS. Therefore it has closed its border, stifling the flow of aid.

A usual in was, it is the noncombatants who suffer the most.