Syria: UN Suspends Aid Delivery After Convoy, Warehouse Attack

The United Nations is suspending its aid operations in Syria after a deadly attack on a convoy and warehouse carrying life-saving supplies in rural Aleppo on Monday night, a UN spokesperson said, leaving tens of thousands of people without desperately needed food and medicine.

“At the moment [the] aid operation remains suspended while we assess and reevaluate the situation on the ground,” the spokesperson said, adding aid convoys planned had come to a halt.
The convoy of 31 trucks was carrying life-saving aid to around 78,000 people when it was attacked near the embattled city of Aleppo, the United Nations and aid organizations said.
Officials from the UN and US said they were “disgusted” and “outraged” by the incident, which according to the UN saw 18 of the trucks in the convoy hit.
Twelve people involved in the aid delivery were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization that monitors the conflict in Syria.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks and it is unclear whether the convoy was hit by an airstrike or shelled.
Credit: CNN

Politics Blamed For Delay In UN Aid Delivery To Syria

No humanitarian aid has entered Syria yet, the UN says, despite the de-escalation of violence across the country following the coming into effect of a nationwide ceasefire.

Al Jazeera has learned from diplomatic sources that no route for the delivery of aid has been agreed upon yet.

The Syrian foreign ministry on Tuesday said it would not allow any humanitarian aid to enter the rebel-held side of Aleppo without coordination with the Syrian government and the UN.

It said Turkish convoys in particular would not be allowed into Syria.

A diplomatic source, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, confirmed that the Turkish government’s involvement remains a major sticking point for the aid delivery.

“Politics is coming in the way of the delivery,” the source said.

Read More: aljazeera