A total of 780,000 people in Syrian areas that are difficult to access have received humanitarian assistance since the beginning of 2016, UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Monday. The spokesperson stressed that water, food, hygiene kits and other necessities were delivered to 3,250 residents of the Syrian western province of Homs on May 4 and 8, as well as to 35,000 people in the village of Bloudan, some 30 miles from Damascus on May 6. "Since the beginning of 2016, inter-agency operations have reached more than 780,000 civilians in besieged areas and areas difficult to access," Dujarric said, adding that many of these people had received help more than once. Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. The ceasefire in Syria worked out by Russia and the United States, took effect on February 27 to facilitate humanitarian access to all besieged areas in the country, among other purposes. Earlier on Monday, Russia and the United States as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group pledged to pressure the sides to the Syrian conflict to ensure continuous humanitarian aid deliveries for civilians.
