GENEVA: The United Nations plans to make its first air drops of food aid in Syria, to Deir Al-Zor, a town of 200,000 besieged by Daesh militants, the chair of a UN humanitarian task force said on Thursday.
UN aid agencies do not have direct access to areas held by Daesh, including Deir Al-Zor, where civilians are facing severe food shortages and sharply deteriorating conditions.
Jan Egeland, speaking to reporters in Geneva a day after UN aid convoys reached five government-besieged areas, said the UN鈥檚 World Food Programme (WFP) had a 鈥渃oncrete plan鈥� for carrying out the Deir Al-Zor operation in coming days.
He said the WFP hoped to make progress reaching 鈥渢he poor people inside Deir Al-Zor, which is besieged by Daesh. That can only be done by air drops,鈥� said Egeland.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a complicated operation and would be in many ways the first of its kind,鈥� Egeland said, giving no details of the air operation which is far more costly than land convoys.
Deir Al-Zor is the main town in a province of the same name. The province links Daesh鈥檚 de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa with territory controlled by the militant group in neighboring Iraq.
Egeland chaired a three-hour meeting of the humanitarian task force on Syria, where he said that many member states pledged support for the attempt to reach Deir Al-Zor.
UN to make first air drops of food to besieged in Syria
-
{{#bullets}}
- {{value}} {{/bullets}}