The Manila Times

UN sends aid convoy for Eastern Ghouta

- AFP PHOTO UN DAILY NEWS

THE United Nations and its partners plan to deliver much-needed relief assistance to the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta humanitari­an wing said on Sunday.

A convoy of 46 trucks carrying health and nutrition supplies, along with food for 27,500 people, should arrive in the city of Duma on Monday, the UN hu has reported.

“We hope that the convoy may proceed as planned and will be followed by other convoys. Our teams on the ground are ready to do all that is needed to make this happen,” said UN Resident/Humanitari­an Coordinato­r in Syria, Ali Al-Za’tari.

Nearly 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta, located near the capital, Damascus, are trapped in what UN Secretary-General Antó “hell on Earth.”

On 24 February, the UN Security Council unanimousl­y adopted

A Russian solider stands guard as Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles carrying aid wait at the al-Wafideen checkpoint on the outskirts of Damascus neighborin­g the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region before delivering aid to the rebel-held enclave on Monday. a resolution calling for a 30-day addition to other measures including the lifting of sieges, particular­ly in eastern Ghouta.

However, UN Regional Humanitari­an Coordinato­r for the Syria based in Jordan, noted that one week later there has yet to be a cessation of hostilitie­s, while violence has escalated in some areas.

“Instead of a much needed reprieve, we continue to see more disturbing reports of hunger and hospitals being bombed. This collective punishment of civilians is simply unacceptab­le,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“The UN and humanitari­an partners stand ready to assist the 13.1 million of people in need inside Syria, but cannot do it alone. We certainly cannot do this while

OCHA reported that the UN and partners have received approval to deliver assistance for 70,000 people in need in Duma.

The UN has received assurances that the remaining supplies for all approved people in need will be delivered on 8 March, according to a press release issued by the

So far this year, the only UN aid delivery to eastern Ghouta was on 14 February, when a convoy with supplies for 7,200 people reached the town of Nashabiyah.

Meanwhile, the UN has called on all parties in Syria to facilitate unconditio­nal, unimpeded, and sustained humanitari­an access to all people in need throughout the country.

2011 and has generated what has been described as the worst humanitari­an crisis of our time.

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