Shelling Halts Rare Aid Delivery Into Eastern Ghouta

A first aid delivery since 18 February to eastern Ghouta, has been cut short due to shelling from Syrian government forces.

Monday's shipment, a 46-truck convoy, was the first to enter eastern Ghouta amid weeks of a crippling siege and a government assault that has killed hundreds of civilians.

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that its joint convoy with the United Nations had to leave before offloading all of their supplies due to the deteriorating security situation.

Ingy Sedky, the ICRC spokeswoman in Syria, said most of the aid from a 46-truck convoy was delivered to the town of Douma in eastern Ghouta but the mission was cut short before the rest of the supplies could be unloaded.

Iyad Abdelaziz, a member of the Douma Local Council, said nine aid trucks had to leave the area after government shelling and air strikes intensified in the evening.

The convoy that reached Douma carried only a fraction of relief needed for the estimated 400,000 people trapped under the government's siege. The UN stated that the convoy was carrying food for 27,500 people. 

The UN also said that the Syrian government offloaded 70% of the health supplies, including trauma and surgical kits and insulin, before allowing the convoy to enter the area. 

The government routinely removes lifesaving medical supplies from aid convoys, in a pattern of denying such aid to civilians living in opposition areas.

UN officials have complained for years about such actions by the Syrian government.

At least 50 civilians were killed on Monday by shelling and air strikes in eastern Ghouta as the Syrian government, backed by Russia's military, showed no signs of easing its assault on the region, despite a UN Security Council resolution passed on February 25 demanding a 30-day ceasefire.