WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Hard to reach Palestinians in refugee camps and other communities in the Syrian capital of Damascus have begun receiving relief supplies after an earlier cutoff due to fierce fighting, UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) spokesman Chris Gunness said in a statement on Monday.
"Today UNRWA conducted vital humanitarian operations in the Damascus district of Yalda to support Palestine refugees and other besieged and hard to reach civilians in the Yalda-Yarmouk area," Gunness stated.
UNRWA is responsible for serving Palestinians displaced by the creation of Israel.
"For the sake of the well-being and dignity of Palestine refugees and other civilians inside Yarmouk and in the Yalda area, it is imperative that all concerned actors ensure the long-term continuation of the conditions which enabled the success of UNRWA's mission today," Gunness noted.
The aid deliveries resumed despite a general unravelling of a US-Russia brokered ceasefire that began on February 27.
In Geneva on Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in an attempt to restore compliance with the ceasefire.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with several opposition factions and terrorist groups like the Islamic State, also known as Daesh and outlawed in Russia and other countries, seeking to topple the government of President Bashar Assad.