The Syrian government and the United Nations have reached an agreement giving access for humanitarian aid to be delivered to seven besieged areas in Syria.
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“It is the duty of the government of Syria to want to reach every Syrian person wherever they are and allow the United Nations to bring humanitarian aid”, De Mistura said on Tuesday in Damascus.
Humanitarian relief convoys have entered crisis-stricken Damascus suburbs under the supervision of the Red Crescent and the United Nations, becoming the first global aid deliveries since world powers agreed on a ceasefire plan starting Friday.
The UN official also stressed “Humanitarian delivery is not only important it is essential” noting that “there are now more than 400000 people living in areas besieged by the Government by the opposition and by Daesh”.
The fate of the convoys was called into question after the Syrian foreign ministry responded to De Mistura’s statement.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon said Saudi Arabia has resumed air strikes by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria.
The convoys, announced by de Mistura last night, are expected to transport supplies to the starving residents of Madaya and Zabadani, under a siege by forces loyal to Assad, and simultaneously to Fua and Kefraya, besieged by rebel forces.
The UN has demanded unhindered access to all besieged areas of the country, where it says hundreds of thousands of people are trapped by fighting and deliberate blockades by Syria’s various warring sides.
The U.N. special envoy for Syria says a task force seeking humanitarian access throughout the conflict-torn country will meet Thursday in Geneva to take stock of efforts to reach besieged areas.
Turkey has also been locked in its own war with Kurdish rebels in the north of Syria, which it believes are allied to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has waged an insurgency on its soil for decades.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Wednesday that “the implementation of the Munich agreements on Syrian settlement has started”. He said it will discuss practical issues related to the aid delivery.
The opposition walked out of earlier talks demanding humanitarian aid convoys be allowed to enter besieged towns, where there are reports of widespread starvation and malnutrition.
Turkey has accused the Kurdish militia of pursuing “demographic change” in northern Syria by forcibly displacing Turkmen and Arab communities.
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People gather around the rubble of a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) near Maaret al-Numan, in Syria’s northern province of Idlib, on February 15, 2016, after the building was hit by suspected Russian airstrikes.
