UN aid convoys reach Syria’s Kurdish areas
ALEPPO, Syria (Kurdistan24) – The United Nations (UN) office said on Thursday that an aid convoy carrying food, medicine, and other emergency supplies reached a predominantly-Kurdish neighborhood in Aleppo, a city in northern Syria.
Speaking to Kurdistan24 from Aleppo’s mainly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud quarter, Shivan, an activist who preferred not to mention his full name for security reasons, said that about 13 trucks reached the residential areas of the neighborhood for the first time since 2012.
“The UN trucks carried milk for children, food, wheelchairs, medical supplies, medicine, tents, diapers, and school clothing,” he said.
Regarding the beneficiaries of the aid convoy, the UN head office said in a report that the aid convoy sent to Sheikh Maqsoud carries food for more than 20,000 people.
“So, as we speak today, our UN, Red Cross, Red Crescent colleagues are in Sheikh Maksoud, which is a convoy with food to 22,500 people and it is just north of Aleppo,” UN reported.
Sheikh Maqsoud has been under the control of Kurdish forces since 2012 after clashes with the Syrian regime army. Since then, the tension between Kurdish forces and armed groups linked to the Turkish-based Syrian opposition has intensified after the YPG took control of a large area in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
On May 13, in a detailed report, UK-based human rights group Amnesty International accused the Syrian armed opposition groups of committing war crimes against Kurdish civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud. Amnesty said the continuous heavy bombardment and the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud amount to war crimes.
[A truck of humanitarian aid reached the city of Qamishlo in northern Syria, June 5, 2016. (Photo: UNHCR-Syria)]
UN AIR BRIDGES TO QAMISHLO
Additionally, the UN head office said that there is a plan for launching air bridges to the northeastern Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria (Rojava) in the few coming days.
“We are just about to launch an air bridge into Qamishlo from Damascus. The reason for this is that we have run out of meaningful means to reach people over land. This is in the Al Hasakeh governorate in the north-eastern corner of Syria,” UN reported.
Three weeks ago, over 160 tons of humanitarian aid reached the city of Qamishlo in northern Syria by five airlifts conducted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
“The five airlifts that took place on the 26 May and 1, 2, 3 and 4 of June, 2016 carried humanitarian supplies including 31,860 High Thermal blankets, 10,450 plastic sheets, and 9,863 kitchen sets,” the UN official page reported on June 5.
[Photos show the humanitarian aid convoy reached the city of Qamishlo in northern Syria, June 5, 2016. (Photo: UNHCR-Syria)]