UN aid destined for Aleppo not able to reach civilians due to clearance-related disagreements

Two convoys of aid which crossed the Turkish border destined for Syria’s Aleppo were waiting in no-man’s land on Wednesday, as disagreements between warring sides and fears about security delayed deliveries on the third day of a ceasefire.

The convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, entered Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu, about 40 km west of Aleppo, on Tuesday but made it little further than the Turkish customs post.

A divided Aleppo



The international community’s first goal since the truce brokered by the United States and Russia came into effect on Monday is to get aid to Aleppo. The city is divided, and its rebel-held area is besieged by government forces. “Things are taking longer than we’d hoped,” David Swanson, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Reuters. He said 20 U.N. trucks were waiting at the border “ready to go”.

Disagreements between the warring sides were blocking aid getting into opposition-held eastern Aleppo, Mr. Swanson added.

A second UN official said that deliveries to Aleppo had to cross numerous checkpoints operated by both opposition and government forces, and there was still uncertainty over whether the aid could get through safely.

The Syrian government has said it will reject any aid deliveries to the city not coordinated through itself and the United Nations, particularly from Turkey, which has backed the rebels fighting President Bashar Al-Assad.

The ceasefire has drastically reduced fighting across the country between Syrian government forces and insurgents. But a similar truce in February gradually broke down and violence escalated sharply, particularly around Aleppo.