The United Nations has restarted air drops of food to support 93,500 Syrians besieged by ISIS in the city of Deir al-Zor, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday. Air drops were halted on Jan. 15 after the militant group cut the besieged zone in two and overran the drop zone that had been used for 177 air drops since April. WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher said a new drop zone was now in use and air drops resumed on Jan. 29, with two drops at the new site so far. Moreover, the air drops to Deir al-Zor are conducted at high altitude because of the threat of attack from the ground. The UN air drops cost an average of $10,000 US per tonne, a total cost of $33 million so far.

Source: CBC News January 31, 2017 12:21 UTC