Inter-agency humanitarian convoy reaches Ar Rastan area in north Syria

An inter-agency humanitarian convoy delivered food, health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene and other emergency items to Syria's Ar Rastan area in northern rural Homs for 107,500 people in need, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here Monday.

Some health, non-food items, nutrition and water and sanitation supplies were removed during the loading process, Haq said at a daily news briefing here.

The UN continues to call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access, including for all health and medical-related items, to the 4.7 million people in hard-to-reach locations across the country, including more than 640,000 in besieged locations, Haq said.

"We also remain deeply concerned for the situation of civilians impacted by anti-Da'esh operations in and around Al Bab," Haq said, adding that it is estimated that around 30,000 civilians have fled Al Bab city and its surroundings since late December.

Da'esh, or the Islamic State (IS), is the terrorist group whose fighters seized part of territories in Iraq and Syria.

"The UN and partners are providing assistance to those who are displaced, including through setting up reception and transit centres to receive and provide basic assistance to those in need," he said.

Up to 10,000 civilians remain in Al Bab city, facing increasingly difficult conditions under Da'esh control, including severe movement restrictions. Enditem