United Nations makes first aid drop to Syria

An aid convoy of Syrian Arab Red Crescent and UN drives through the rebel held besieged city of Douma towards the besieged town of Kafr Batna to deliver aid, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria.
REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
An aid convoy of Syrian Arab Red Crescent and UN drives through the rebel held besieged city of Douma towards the besieged town of Kafr Batna to deliver aid, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

The United Nations  has carried out its first air drop of aid to citizens in a city besieged by Islamic State militants.

According to the BBC, UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien told the Security Council the plane dropped 21 tonnes of humanitarian items on a government-held part of Deir al-Zour, in the northeast of the country.

Up to 200,000 civilians are thought to be living under siege in Deir al-Zour.

The UN said recently civilians trapped in besieged areas were facing “sharply deteriorating conditions” with reports of “severe cases of malnutrition and deaths due to starvation”.

Last week, more than 100 lorries carrying food and other basic goods reached 80,000 people in five other besieged areas of Syria.

Two more convoys were sent to two towns besieged by government forces on Tuesday.

People welcome an aid convoy of Syrian Arab Red Crescent and United Nations. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
People welcome an aid convoy of Syrian Arab Red Crescent and United Nations. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

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