HATAY, Turkey

The UN on Monday dispatched a total of 48 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for needy people in the northwestern Idlib city of Syria.

Truckloads of supplies were transferred through the Cilvegozu border crossing in Reyhanli district of Turkey's southern Hatay province.

The aid will be distributed among residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan in Ankara.