Cem Genco
12 March 2020•Update: 12 March 2020
HATAY, Turkey
The UN on Thursday dispatched a total of 53 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the northwestern Idlib province of Syria, where hundreds of thousands are in dire need of help due to regime’s aggression.
The trucks first arrived at the southern Hatay province of Turkey and later crossed into northern Syria through Cilvegozu border crossing.
The aid will be distributed among residents in urban areas of northwestern Idlib, as well as the surrounding countryside, which have been subject to years of devastating attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, triggering a wave of over a million refugees.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.
Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018. The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone.
The de-escalation zone is currently home to some four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces from throughout the war-weary country.
After Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield in late February, it inflicted heavy blows on the Syrian regime. Turkish, Russian officials later agreed on a cease-fire in the war-stricken city.
*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas
