UN to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to 870,000 Syrians in Besieged Areas

The United Nations plans to deliver humanitarian aid to 870,000 Syrians in besieged areas, UN Resident Coordinator in Damascus Yacoub El Hillo said Wednesday.

GENEVA (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said over 536 aid trucks have reached nearly half a million people this year, in comparison to none in 2015.

"We are aiming to reach 870,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, but also the specific locations in besieged areas that we have so far not been able to reach," El Hillo said, listing five unreachable locations.

Speaking ahead of the humanitarian coordinator, Jan Egeland, Special Advisor to the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, said the United Nations and partners have been able to reach 10 besieged areas, but stressed that six key areas remained inaccessible.

The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) – global and regional powers and organizations that brokered intra-Syria talks – assigned the UN task force to deliver aid to 18 besieged areas in Syria.