UN says 84 already dead in efforts to reach North eastern relief camp in Syria

At least 84 people, two thirds of them children, have died since December on their way to al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria after fleeing Islamic State in the Deir al-Zor region, the United Nations said on Friday.

"There are reports of 175 children having been hospitalised due to medical symptoms from severe acute malnutrition," Jens Laerke, spokesman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), also told a news briefing, citing reports from U.N. agencies and aid groups on the ground.

Some 13,000 people fled Deir al-Zor last week, many of them arriving at al-Hol, and the exodus continues on what is a "long and very tiring journey", he said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Gareth Jones)