The Syrian regime agreed to allow convoys of humanitarian aid to enter all nineteen areas that are besieged by the end of June according to the UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura’s announcement yesterday. However, he said that “the approval does not mean that the aid will reach” the areas, and continued by saying “Our team in Damascus has been informed that preliminary permission has been granted and that the Syrian government has approved all nineteen areas that are besieged”.

However, he stressed that the Syrian regime has made these kinds of approvals previously and yet it has prevented convoys from distributing the necessary aid to save the lives of residents. His comments came after his weekly meeting with a humanitarian access task force in Syria which is led by both Russia and the United States and that has been trying to deliver aid to millions of Syrians who are in need for the last three months.

The force has faced pressure from several quarters including France and Britain to start air drop operations to deliver aid to besieged areas, while President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces continue to block the convoys’ route.