Critical aid delivered to Syrian towns for first time in months: UN

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported Tuesday that trucks carrying critical supplies were able to offload cargo in besieged Syrian towns, providing some 60,000 people with vital humanitarian aid.

Forty-seven trucks were directed on Monday to Madaya where aid was delivered to 40,000 people, while a convoy of 21 trucks was sent in parallel to Foah and Kefraya, further providing 20,000 civilians living in miserable conditions with critical humanitarian assistance.

According to OCHA, the aid delivered to the towns for the first time since October last year included food, health supplies, and winterization and shelter material.

Aid personnel on the Madaya-bound convoy described the situation on the ground as "miserable", confirming they had seen severely malnourished children.

Carried out by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UN agencies and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), further deliveries are expected to take place this week in these locations as well as to Zabadani which is situated close to Madaya.

According to estimates, some 4.5 million Syrians currently live in besieged and hard-to-reach areas because of the ongoing conflict which erupted in 2011 in the country. Endit