Relief aid enters besieged Syrian city near Damascus

Relief aid entered the besieged city of Daraya near the capital Damascus on Wednesday, the first to enter the rebel-held city since 2012, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"We have just entered the city with the UN and the Syrian Red Crescent," the ICRC said.

Daraya has been a focal point west of the capital Damascus since the early months of the country's five-year-old conflict.

A couple of weeks ago, a shipment was denied access to the city for undeclared reasons.

In tandem with Wednesday's operation, another aid convoy entered the adjacent town of Muadamiyeh.

Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that a 48-hour truce in Daraya was agreed. Reports said the truce came as a result of a Russian-U.S. effort to establish tranquility in that hotspot city.

Meanwhile, local media reported the first step of a reconciliation between the Syrian army and the people of Muadamiyeh.

Reports said some of the armed men in the town laid down their weapons to the government, and also removed sand barriers they have built in some parts of the town.

The rebels in the town also hoisted the Syrian official flag on the government institutions there.

Both Muadamiyeh and Daraya has been under a heavy siege by the government forces for years. Muadamiyeh has witnessed the entry of several shipments of aid over the past few months, but Daraya hasn't until Wednesday. Endit