Aid agencies reported deaths from starvation in government-besieged Madaya earlier this year. Trucks carrying medical and food aid entered two blockaded towns near Damascus on Wednesday, meaning that humanitarian agencies have now reached all besieged areas of Syria this year, the United Nations said. Aid agencies have repeatedly called for regular access to areas under siege, saying that one-off deliveries quickly run out and that those in need remain blockaded. "It will mean that since the beginning of this year the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent have been able to reach all the besieged areas of Syria," he added. The 38-truck convoy carried aid for some 20,000 people the U.N. estimates are living in the rebel-held towns of Zamalka and Irbin, which are being besieged by the government side.

Source: Huffington Post June 29, 2016 16:41 UTC