Aid gets to four besieged Syrian towns

For the first time in six months, aid has been delivered to four besieged towns in Syria.

An aid convoy of 31 trucks preparing to set off to deliver aid to the western rural side of Aleppo, Syria, 19 September Source: SYRIAN RED CRESENT

Seventy trucks of humanitarian aid have been delivered to four besieged towns in Syria for the first time in almost six months, the Red Cross said.

The aid organisation said convoys were delivered to Madaya and Zabdani near Damascus and to the villages of al Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province in the north west.

Madaya, near the border with Lebanon, has a population of about 40,000 and has been besieged by Syrian government-allied forces for around six month. Zabadani has 1000 people left.

Kefraya and al-Foua, in Idlib province in northwest Syria, have about 20,000 people, according to UN estimates, and have been surrounded by insurgents since April 2015.

Last Thursday UN relief operations in Syria resumed after a 48-hour suspension due to a deadly attack.

The world body suspended land deliveries after a 31-truck convoy was attacked last Monday at Urem al-Kubra in western Aleppo.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent says a staff member and around 20 civilians were killed and a warehouse destroyed.