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Aid convoys enter besieged Syrian rebel bastion

Xinhua, February 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Aid convoys carrying medical stuff entered the rebel bastion of Douma east of the capital Damascus on Saturday, according to the state news agency SANA.

The aid was delivered to Douma by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, said SANA, adding that the shipment includes milk for kids, insulin, and other medication for chronic diseases.

SANA said aid enters Douma every two or three months.

Meanwhile, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the entry of aid, saying four aid convoys entered Douma.

A source familiar with the aid entry told Xinhua that trucks entered Douma and left carrying vegetables for traders who will sell them inside the capital, as Douma and other areas east of Damascus are largely agriculture lands.

Sending aid to besieged areas is one of the demands of the international community, as a way to alleviate the sufferings of the Syrian people, who are paying a steep price for the nearly five-year-old conflict.

Throughout the crisis, warring parties in Syria have resorted to sieges to diminish one another's strength.

The tactic successfully forced rebels out of several areas and drove the government into negotiations in other areas, but countless civilians fell victim to the dire consequences of the sieges.

The long-running conflict has killed at least 250,000 people, and driven 11 million from their homes. Endit