The United Nations on Tuesday dispatched 25 trucks carrying humanitarian assistance through Turkey to Syria's northwestern Idlib province.
The trucks crossed into Syrian territory through the Cilvegözü border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province. People in need in Idlib and its surrounding areas will receive the aid.
Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to U.N. estimates.
Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.
While previously humanitarian aid was delivered to Syria through four border crossings, Russia closed the ar-Ramtha border crossing between Syria and Jordan, and the al-Yarubiyah border crossing with Iraq last year.
In July, the number of gates for aid deliveries between Turkey and Syria was reduced from two to one. Currently, only the Bab al-Hawa border crossing opposite Cilvegözü remains open for aid delivery for another year.
