Syrian rebels have agreed to a plan for the United Nations to distribute food rations and conduct medical evacuations for people trapped in east Aleppo.
The U.N. said Thursday it’s ready and waiting to distribute the aid to about 275,000 people in the city, which is the site of intense combat between the government and rebels who are resisting its heavy-handed rule. But the agency is awaiting approval from Russia and the Syrian government before moving trucks into the city.
Once the U.N. has all the approvals, it needs 72 hours to prepare what humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland described as a “big, complex and dangerous operation.”
“We do now have written approval in principle by the armed opposition groups of east Aleppo,” Egeland told Reuters, saying that he was referring only to rebels with whom the U.N. is in contact.
“We have verbal support also from the Russian Federation on our four-point plan,” Egeland said. “We need written support and we need unconditional support also from Russia and we are waiting still for the answer from the government of Syria.”
The U.N. estimates that the ongoing conflicts have resulted in 974,000 Syrians living in areas besieged by Islamic State militants, other rebels and, in some areas, government forces.
The situation is particularly dire in east Aleppo, where residents are lacking medicine, food and fuel amid an intense bombardment and frequent air strikes on hospitals over the past week.
