Aid Convoy Enters Besieged Syria Town

An aid convoy entered a besieged rebel-held suburb of Syria's capital on Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, in its first delivery there in four years.

Twenty-nine trucks carried food and medicine for some 10,000 people in Harasta in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel bastion under regime siege since mid-2013, ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek said.

"For the ICRC, it is the first aid delivery to the area since 2012," he said.

The trucks also ferried in birth delivery kits and school supplies to the northeastern suburb, Krzysiek said.

The convoy comes a day after world powers called on the United Nations to carry out air drops over besieged areas from June 1 if regime blockades prevent aid convoys from entering.

One such convoy was denied entry to the rebel-held town of Daraya southwest of Damascus last week, dashing hopes for its first delivery since the regime siege began there in 2012.

Last month, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura listed Harasta, nearby Duma -- also besieged by the regime -- and Daraya as being among areas in urgent need of supplies.

The United Nations says that more than 400,000 people are living under siege in Syria, most of them in areas besieged by the regime.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted with the brutal repression of anti-regime protests in 2011.