A convoy carrying food and medicine arrived in a besieged rebel-held town close to Damascus today, the Red Crescent said, the first aid delivery since world powers agreed on humanitarian access across Syria.
"The convoy has begun to enter Moadimayet al-Sham. There are 35 trucks carrying 8,800 sacks of flour, 4,400 food parcels, high energy foods and medical equipment," the Red Crescent's Muhannad al-Asadi told AFP.
Officials from 17 countries met in Munich last week and agreed an ambitious plan to cease hostilities in war-racked Syria and dramatically ramp up humanitarian access.
The UN's humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said aid dispatched today to Moadimayet al-Sham and four other besieged towns was enough for 93,000 people.
"Today, aid for 30,000 people will enter Moadimayet al-Sham. Other aid will be enough for one month for 42,000 in Madaya, and close to 1,000 in Zabadani," he said.
Madaya and Zabadani, in Damascus province, are both besieged by Syrian regime forces.
Hillo said supplies for 20,000 people were to be delivered to the Shiite towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, in northwestern Idlib province, which are surrounded by rebel forces.
"Sieges need to be lifted wherever they are... It's unacceptable that such a country exists in this day and age," he added.
A ceasefire is due to come into effect on Friday, but prospects of a lasting truce appear weak as a Russian-backed regime offensive around second city Aleppo has forced tens of thousands from their homes this month.
Almost half a million people in Syria are in areas under siege, according to the UN.
