UN sends 17 aid trucks to Idlib, Syria

HATAY, Turkey

The UN on Tuesday dispatched 17 trucks with humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, where millions of people remain in need of assistance due to internal conflict.

The trucks crossed over into Syria’s Idlib province through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey’s southern Hatay province.

The aid will be distributed among residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

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

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.

The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.