U.N. has high hopes for aid from Syria truce but airdrop flops
- 8 years ago
A planned cessation of hostilities in Syria from Saturday night should rescue the civilian population from "the abyss", Jan Egeland, chairman of a humanitarian task force, said on Thursday.
"We need to cover the final areas in the besieged areas list, most of them are in the areas called eastern Ghouta.
And we will be doing convoys in the coming days to this area," Egeland told reporters, referring to an area near Damascus.
Syria's opposition indicated on Wednesday it was ready for a two-week truce in Syria, saying it was a chance to test the seriousness of the other side's commitment to a U.S.-Russian plan for a cessation of hostilities.
However, an air-drop of food to 200,000 people on Wednesday in the eastern town of Deir al-Zor, which is besieged by Islamic State, a jihadi group that the United Nations has no contact with, ran into problems, Egeland said.
"We need to cover the final areas in the besieged areas list, most of them are in the areas called eastern Ghouta.
And we will be doing convoys in the coming days to this area," Egeland told reporters, referring to an area near Damascus.
Syria's opposition indicated on Wednesday it was ready for a two-week truce in Syria, saying it was a chance to test the seriousness of the other side's commitment to a U.S.-Russian plan for a cessation of hostilities.
However, an air-drop of food to 200,000 people on Wednesday in the eastern town of Deir al-Zor, which is besieged by Islamic State, a jihadi group that the United Nations has no contact with, ran into problems, Egeland said.