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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 15 March 2017

Besieged areas in Syria get aid for the first time in months

PHILIP ISSA Hundreds of thousands of
BASSEM MROUE people live in besieged ar-
Associated Press eas around Syria, mainly in
BEIRUT (AP) — Trucks carry- areas surrounded by pro-
ing food and other aid be- government forces.
gan entering four besieged The U.N. embarked on an
areas in Syria on Tuesday ambitious plan early in
for the first time in months, 2016 to establish regular
offering hope to tens of humanitarian access, but
thousands of residents. it was reportedly stymied
The Britain-based Syrian by the government as well
Observatory for Human as an agreement between
Rights said at least two the warring parties to limit
trucks carrying food bas- assistance to 60,000 of the
kets and baby formula en- most distressed, divided
tered the northwestern vil- among the four towns.
lages of Foua and Kfarya, The flow of aid to the four
which are besieged by in- villages came hours af-
surgents, while other trucks ter Physicians for Human
entered the Damascus Rights issued a report in
suburbs of Madaya and which it accused the Syr-
Zabadani, which are be- ian government of willfully
sieged by government denying international ship-
forces and Lebanese Hez- ments of food and medi-
bollah fighters. cine to many Syrians in be-
Dozens of trucks were sup- sieged areas. This 2014 photo shows residents of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, queuing to re-
posed to enter the be- Earlier Tuesday, a U.N. in- ceive food supplies, in Damascus, Syria. Trucks carrying food and other aid began entering four
sieged areas, but it was vestigative commission besieged areas in Syria on Tuesday for the first time in months, offering hope to tens of thousands
not immediately clear if all said it believes govern- of residents.
would make it in. Previous ment forces deliberately (UNRWA via AP)
planned deliveries have bombed a school complex The U.N.’s Independent In- life and international law” Qaida-aligned insurgent
been canceled at the last in the northern countryside ternational Commission of through continued use of group fighting on the side
minute or halted because in October, killing 21 chil- Inquiry on Syria said gov- cluster munitions, incendi- of Syria’s rebels and a U.S.-
of fighting. dren, in a scathing report ernment forces and their ary weapons and chlorine backed Kurdish group for
The government-controlled on alleged crimes com- allies had shown a “com- gas. conscripting adolescents
Syrian Central Military Me- mitted in Syria over the last plete disregard for civilian It also fingered an al- for combat. q
dia released a video show- seven months.
ing a convoy of SUVs from
the International Commit- Official: Pakistan promises nuclear arms responsibility
tee of the Red Cross and
the Syrian Arab Red Cres-
cent escorting at least two KATHY GANNON powers. nuclear, biological and technology.
trucks into Madaya. It gave Associated Press The pledge was delivered chemical weapons, with a When India started down
no further details. ISLAMABAD (AP) — Paki- by Sartaj Aziz, adviser to particular emphasis on pre- the nuclear road by launch-
The delivery came a month stan vowed on Tuesday to Pakistan’s prime minister on venting non-state actors ing its program in the early
after the U.N. humanitarian work to prevent non-nucle- foreign affairs, at a multi- from getting their hands on 1970s, Pakistan was quick
coordinator for Syria ap- ar states from gaining the nation conference on non- massively destructive tech- to follow. The tensions be-
pealed to all parties to technology that would put proliferation in Islamabad, nology as well as materials. tween the two countries
reach an agreement for them on the path to ac- attended by representa- But Islamabad has had a — neither of which is a sig-
immediate access, saying quiring nuclear weapons tives of South and Central sketchy history in this area, natory to the Nuclear Non-
that aid has not reached — even though both Islam- Asia, as well as China and with the architect of its nu- Proliferation Agreement
the areas since Nov. 28. abad and neighbor New Russia. Pakistan is signatory clear weapons program, — have raised the specter
Some 60,000 people live in Delhi have defied non- to the 13-year-old United Qadeer Khan, accused of of a nuclear confrontation
the four besieged areas, proliferation treaties to be- Nations resolution aimed clandestinely giving North between the two hostile
according to the U.N. come competing nuclear at curbing the spread of Korea nuclear weapons neighbors.q