On Monday Anthony Lake the director of UNICEF said the aid agency had stuck an deal with Syria to expand its humanitarian operations across the country.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) ANTHONY LAKE, DIRECTOR OF UNICEF, SAYING:<br/> <br />"We have actually increased our staff in Syria, we're hoping to establish some local offices in various areas of Syria, and as I said we've expanded the number of local partners that we are working with, and so I think we have an opportunity, if we can seize it, to save a lot of lives and improve the situation."<br/> <br />Lake, who was visiting a refugee camp in Jordan said the deal allows the U.N. agency to go beyond its Damascus operations to reach needy Syrians in areas of conflict.<br/> <br />The UN says the 18 month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule has killed approximately 30,000 people. There are no figures on the number of children who have died.
