Russia delivers food supply to civilians in Syria’s opposition-held Homs

MOSCOW - 9 Aug 2017: The Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria delivered humanitarian aid to civilians living in the northern part of Syria's Homs area, currently controlled by the armed opposition, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported on Wednesday.

The area is part of the de-escalation zone, with the agreement on its functioning reached by representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry and moderate Syrian opposition on July 31. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 84 settlements with a population of more than 147,000 people are in the zone.

"Today, the Center for reconciliation of opposing sides for the first time delivered humanitarian aid to the de-escalation zone [in Homs], including flour, sugar, canned goods and individual packages for humanitarian distribution. Humanitarian aid has previously been delivered to the Homs governorate, but here [in the de-escalation zone] hostilities were going on not so long ago, and agreements were reached on their cessation and peaceful settlement measures," a representative of the center, Fyodor Ochinskiy, said.

The agreement on establishing four de-escalation zones was reached during the talks on Syrian reconciliation in Astana in May. The four zones are in the province of Idlib and neighboring districts of Latakia, Aleppo and Homs, in the north of Homs, in southern Quneitra and Daraa provinces and in the Eastern Ghouta.

The ceasefire regime in Syrian de-escalation zones does not cover the militants of the Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as Nusra Front, and Daesh (both terrorist organizations are banned in Russia).