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UN emergency relief reaches cut-off region of northern Syria

15 June 2013 04:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The UN refugee agency has delivered vital aid for thousands of people displaced in a north region of Syria, a UN spokesman told reporters here on Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"Emergency relief assistance from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reached Al Raqqa, an area of northern Syria which has not been accessible for the past three months, on 9 and 12 June," said Martin Nesirky, spokesperson for UN secretary-general, at the daily briefing.

According to him, seven trucks filled with relief goods were confirmed to have reached Raqqa, and the agency is trying to confirm whether two other trucks also reached the area,

"This assistance will help some 5,000 persons displaced in that area," Nesirky said.

Also this week, UNHCR's team in Syria started distributing financial help to displaced Syrian families in Tartus, a city on the coast, with families each receiving approximately 150 U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, Syrians are continuing to flee to Lebanon from Qusayr which has been under siege since mid-May.

When asked about the U.S. decision to send weapons to the Syrian rebels, the spokesperson echoed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon's remarks to the press on Friday, saying "only a political solution can address this issue sustainably."

Nesirky said Ban is working very hard with the concerned parties to facilitate the U.S.-Russia initiative to have a peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible and another tri-lateral meeting will be held on June 25.

He also confirmed that Ban had received a letter from the U.S. authorities on Syria and was studying it.

At least 93,000 people have been killed in the conflict that began in March 2011, between the government and forces seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad. In addition, the UN estimates that some 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country to escape conflict.