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Amid renewed clashes between Syrian government’s forces and rebels, the United Nations evacuated nearly 500 people from four besieged towns. The evacuation, which is being hailed as the largest such operation in a war-torn Syria, comes a day after security forces allegedly killed 40 people by air strike in rebel-held areas. A U.N. chief in Syria confirmed the success of the operation, which marks a major humanitarian victory in a country that's been grappling with internal conflict for five years.
Jan Egeland, chairman of a U.N. humanitarian task force in Syria, said that it was a joint operation coordinated and executed by the Syrian Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N.
About 250 people were evacuated from the towns of Zabadani and Madaya, which were besieged by pro-government forces, writes the BBC. The other 250 were rescued from Foah and Kefraya in the north-west of the country. According to a U.N. estimate, more than half a million Syrians are forced to live under siege with restricted access to food and medical supplies.
Human rights agencies have long been demanding unrestricted access to besieged areas, notes Al Jazeera. Expressing deep concern over the escalating violence, Ariane Rummery of the U.N. refugee agency said that the situation is badly affecting “humanitarian delivery” to the cut-off areas.
