UN: Syria's Daraya to receive first help since 2012

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA

The UN said on Thursday the first humanitarian assessment mission since 2012 is on its way to Syria's Daraya town.

Following an International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Geneva, the head of the UN’s humanitarian efforts in Syria, Jan Egeland, told reporters: "The [Syrian] government claimed that there were only terrorists inside Daraya... The assessment mission will be documenting that."

About an upcoming International Syria Support Group (ISSG) ministerial meeting on May 17 in Vienna, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said: "The cessation of hostilities is going to be one of the main subjects of the Vienna meeting."

The Red Cross confirmed to Anadolu Agency that it will also deliver relief supplies to Daraya – which has suffered a long siege by government forces – on Thursday.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to the UN.