Syria aid convoys prepare to head to besieged areas

On Wednesday morning the Syrian Red Crescent had said 100 trucks carrying flour, other food supplies and medicines were preparing to leave for five besieged areas.

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters on February 17 that Merkel’s suggestion came in the context of what was agreed upon in Munich, that a humanitarian corridor should be established to deliver aid to Syrian civilians, and hostilities should cease, hopefully in the next day or two.

Syria’s opposition says it will not negotiate with Damascus until sieges imposed by government forces and their allies have been lifted – one of many issues that led to a suspension of the peace talks in Geneva earlier this month.

A long-standing proposal to establish a no-fly zone in northern Syria has been floated repeatedly by Turkey and other Assad opponents throughout the 5-year-old war.

Enforcing a no-fly zone has become considerably more hard since Moscow began its air campaign in Syria on September 30.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennadiy Gatilov, whose government entered the war a year ago in support of President Bashar al-Assad, said Wednesday the Munich accord is being implemented and would be discussed by defense officials from Russia, the US and “key countries” on Friday.

More than 100 aid trucks from Damascus, the capital, delivered supplies to seven besieged towns, including Medaya and areas throughout Idlib province, Wednesday evening.

Before the offensive, Syrians injured in the war or those requiring serious medical treatment for other reasons often were taken by ambulance to Turkey.

“A country has been shattered because Assad was willing to shatter it”, US President Barack Obama said, adding that Russian Federation “has been party to that entire process”.

Meanwhile, 15 civilians were killed when US-led forces hit a bakery in an Islamic State-held town in the north-east, as people were lining up, activists said.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six trucks also entered al-Fouaa and Kafraya – two towns under siege by the government since 2012.

Syrians living in bombed out, isolated towns are finally receiving the aid humanitarian groups working on the ground have demanded for more than a month, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. Syria blamed one strike on the United States, which said it carried out no military operations in the areas attacked.

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 responded to attacks from the YPG-held areas around Azaz for nearly a week, following the rules of engagement, in response to activities from the terrorist group that have endangered Turkey’s national security.

The first of several convoys carrying badly-needed aid to besieged areas of Syria has arrived at its destination.

But the bombings of five medical facilities and two schools in northern Syria, which the United Nations said killed 50 people, have dimmed ceasefire hopes.

Humanitarian relief convoys have entered crisis-stricken Damascus suburbs under the supervision of the Red Crescent and the United Nations, becoming the first worldwide aid deliveries since world powers agreed on a ceasefire plan starting Friday.