Saudi Plans for Syria Ground Invasion: Bluff or a Disaster in the Making?

[bemildred]

23. Syria: UN cites progress in humanitarian aid to population

(ANSAmed) - BERLIN, FEBRUARY 17 - Despite ongoing conflict in Syria, the UN has seen improvement in humanitarian aid assistance to the population, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Wednesday. He was speaking during a visit to Berlin during which he met with President Joachim Gauck and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Grandi noted that ''a small window of opportunity'' had opened after recent agreement at the Munich conference on Syria.

''I think that the situation will continue to be complicated,'' he said, ''but any progress is progress.'' Grandi also praised Germany, underscoring the ''extraordinary leadership role'' it had taken on in the refugee crisis. At least one hundred lorries carrying humanitarian aid left Damascus on Wednesday towards civilian populations in several besieged areas of Syria after an agreement reached on Tuesday evening between the Syrian government and UN envoy Staffan de Mistura. The firs convoys, organized by the Syrian Red Crescent in coordination with the UN, are transporting aid mainly to five locations: Madaya, Zabadani, Muadamiya Al-Sham, all close to Damascus, and Foua and Kafraya, in the northwestern province of Idlib. The places that will later be reached by convoys are Kafr Batna and Deir Al-Zor, a regional capital in eastern Syria besieged by the Islamic State (ISIS). (ANSAmed).

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2016/02/17/syria-un-cites-progress-in-humanitarian-aid-to-population_299e68e3-81f9-4874-b2f9-2b5148a43391.html