Syria conflict: 1st aid for Darayya since 2012

The besieged Damascus suburb of Darayya has received its first aid convoy since November 2012, according to the International Commission of the Red Cross.

UN aid officials had said the town was suffering dire shortages of food, clean water and medicine, the BBC reported.

A 48-hour ceasefire for the town, which lies south of the Syrian capital, came into force early on Wednesday.

Vaccines, baby milk, medicine and nutritional goods were being delivered, the UN's humanitarian arm said.

Separately, the rebel-held town of Muadhamiya, north-west of Darayya, received deliveries of food parcels and wheat flour on Wednesday, a month since aid convoys last visited.

In April, the UN said at least 4,000 people were besieged in Darayya by Syrian government forces. Its electricity supply was cut off more than three years ago.

Speaking in April, UN emergency relief co-ordinator Stephen O'Brien said the Syrian government had ignored "countless" requests for aid to be allowed in.

An aid convoy was blocked from entering the town last month, despite all involved parties agreeing aid could be delivered.

Source: MENA