New humanitarian aid convoys leaves for Syrian town
A second convoy of humanitarian aid heads to Syria’s southwestern town of Madaya as part of an agreement to allow the delivery of food and medicine into the area.
Fifty trucks carrying international aid supplies left Damascus for the militant-held town, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the Syrian capital, on Thursday.
The convoy is the second of its kind destined for Madaya this week, where doctors estimate 300 to 400 people are severely malnourished.
On Monday afternoon, aid trucks from the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent, were allowed into the town for the first time since October 2015.
The first aid shipment sent to the town included 47 trucks carrying 250 tonnes of food, water, infant formulas, blankets and 7.8 tonnes of medicine and surgical supplies.
Simultaneously, aid trucks entered the villages of Foah and Kefraya in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, which are held by foreign-backed militants.
In Madaya, there are reports that Takfiri militants are looting food. The situation is being played up by the media to blame the Syrian government because of its siege over the town.
Damascus has pledged full cooperation with the UN and the Red Cross to deliver humanitarian aid to all civilians “without any discrimination,” including those in hard-to-reach areas.
Earlier this week, Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari said media reports of starving civilians in Madaya were fabricated in a bid to defame the government.
The diplomat also said that aid delivered to Madaya in October 2015 had been looted by terrorist groups and sold to civilians at exorbitant prices.
According to the UN, up to 4.5 million people live in the hard-to-reach areas of Syria, which has witnessed a deadly conflict since March 2011.
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