UN dispatches humanitarian aid to Syria

By Cem Genco

HATAY, Turkey (AA) - The UN dispatched 106 truckloads of humanitarian aid Tuesday to the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.

Trucks passed through the Cilvegozu border gate in Hatay province, Turkey, and aid will be distributed to residents in urban areas Idlib, as well as the surrounding countryside which have been subjected to years of devastating attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime and allies, triggering a wave of 1 million refugees.

The war in Syria started in early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests. ,

Hundreds of thousands of people have since been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018. The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-weary country.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan