Humanitarian aid convoys reach four besieged Syrian towns

At least 100 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the besieged areas of Syria have entered four of the five militant-held areas after setting off from Damascus under a UN-sponsored deal.

Truckloads of aid were delivered Wednesday to locals in the small mountainous town of Madaya and the town of Muadamiyat al-Sham the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Madaya lies about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Damascus and Muadamiyat is situated some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southwest of the Syrian capital.

Convoys also entered the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.

Vehicles are yet to arrive in the city of al-Zabadani, which lies on the outskirts of Damascus and close to the border with Lebanon.

The trucks left the Syrian capital early Wednesday. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) is cooperating with the United Nations on the aid deliveries.

Damascus has pledged full cooperation with the UN and the Red Cross to deliver humanitarian aid to all civilians “without any discrimination,” including those in hard-to-reach areas.