UNITED NATIONS, December 17 (Sputnik) — The UN Security Council voted on Wednesday to extend for one year cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrians in rebel-held areas without Bashar Assad regime's approval.
The resolution, unanimously passed by the 15-member body, extends the authorization for UN agencies and aid organizations to deliver humanitarian assistance through four border crossings in Turkey, Iraq and Jordan until January 10, 2016.
According to UN data, some 12.2 million Syrians are in urgent need of aid, “of whom 7.6 million are internally displaced, 4.5 million are living in hard-to-reach areas and 212,000 are trapped in besieged areas, including Palestinian refugees."
A civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 as government protests turned into an armed rebellion. Some 200,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict as insurgent groups, including Islamic State (IS) jihadists, fight the Syrian government.
