UN food aid reaches Syria's besieged eastern city by air

 The World Food Programme (WFP) on Sunday delivered aid by air for hungry people trapped in the besieged eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, an area controlled by Islamic State (IS), also known as Da'esh.

The food assistance has reached the besieged parts of the city for the first time since March 2014.

A total of 20 metric tons of urgently needed food supplies -- mainly beans, chickpeas and rice -- were dropped from high altitude by a WFP-chartered aircraft, the UN agency said in a press release. The food was enough to feed 2,500 people for one month.

The air delivery is designed to boost international humanitarian efforts in Syria, the press release said.

Out of 26 pallets loaded with food contained in platforms attached to high altitude parachutes -- 22 pallets were collected by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), the WFP's partner in the city.

The WFP is working to find out what happened to the four other pallets.

More than 200,000 people have been living under siege in Deir Ezzor since March 2014 in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Critical food shortages have been reported.

The WFP is working closely with partners on the ground organizing food distributions, which should take place immediately after every drop.

More airdrops are planned for the coming days to meet food and other humanitarian needs for the besieged population, the press release said.

The aircraft flew from Marka airport in Jordan. Airdrops are always a last resort, as land access is easier and the most cost-effective way of delivering food, the UN agency said.

On Feb. 24, the WFP carried out its first high-altitude airdrop ever, dropping 21 tons of food assistance on Deir Ezzor. But technical problems meant some of the pallets missed the drop zone and some were damaged as their parachutes failed to function properly.

Across Syria, the WFP provides food to more than 4 million people every month and remains very concerned about the suffering of all Syrians living in hard-to-reach areas across the country.

Source: Xinhua