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U.N. envoy wins Syria government green light for aid convoys: U.N.
[REUTERS] The Syrian government has approved access to seven besieged areas and U.N. convoys are expected to set off in days, the United Nations...a formerly good idea gone bad... said on Tuesday after crisis talks in Damascus. U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, who won the green light at talks with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, said the world body would test the government commitment to allow access on Wednesday but gave no details. Their meeting in Damascus came at a time when government forces have been advancing rapidly with the aid of Russian air strikes, and just days before an internationally agreed pause in fighting is due to take effect. De Mistura said they had discussed the issue of humanitarian access to areas besieged by all sides in the five-year war. "It is clear it is the duty of the government of Syria to want to reach every Syrian person wherever they are and allow the U.N. to bring humanitarian aid," de Mistura said in a statement. "Tomorrow we test this." The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Syria had approved access to Deir al-Zor; Foua and Kafraya in Idlib; and Madaya, Zabadani, Kafr Batna and Mouadamiya al-Sham in rural Damascus. Posted by: Fred 2016-02-17 |
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