UN: No aid to besieged areas in Syria in 2 months

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - There has been no aid delivery to areas in Syria in the last two months as the regime approval of aid convoys has been the lowest level in three years, the UN warned Thursday.

"The last convoy to the besieged area was at the end of November," Jan Egeland, adviser to the UN special envoy for Syria, told a news conference in Geneva.

"Through December and January, there has not been a single convoy of lifesaving relief, medical supplies or food to any besieged areas. That is the worst we have experienced since 2015. We have not have medical evacuation since end of December," Egeland added.

In Raqqah, where Daesh terrorist fighters were cleared in October and the PKK/PYD terrorist group took control, Egeland said explosives had since killed or wounded an average of 50 people per week in the city.

Egeland also noted 15,000 civilians had fled to the northern city of Afrin, after Turkey launched a defensive military operation there to eliminate terror elements near its border with Syria.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.

According to the Turkish General Staff, Operation Olive Branch aims to establish security and stability along Turkey's borders and the region as well as protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN Charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.