Beirut - The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations have delivered food aid to the Damascus suburb of Daraya for the first time since it came under siege in 2012, hours after the UN said the Syrian government had approved access to 15 of the 19 besieged areas.
The rebel-held suburb of Daraya, just southwest of the Syrian capital, has been under siege since November 2012 and has witnessed some of the worst bombardment during the country's civil war...now in its sixth year.
The delivery of food supplies came a week after a joint convoy of the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and SARC reached Daraya and delivered medicines, vaccines, baby formula and "nutritional items for children".
The UN estimates that there are currently 592 700 people living under siege in Syria, with the vast majority of them - about 2 700 people - besieged by government forces.
Lifting the siege on rebel-held areas was a key demand by the opposition during indirect peace talks held in Geneva earlier this year.
SARC said the food delivery had been co-ordinated with the UN in the Syrian capital. It said food, flour and medical supplies were delivered.
The UN estimates that 4 000 to 8 000 people live in Daraya, which has been subject to a crippling government blockade since residents expelled security forces in the early stages of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad.
