MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Russian cargo plane delivered 18 metric tonnes of humanitarian aid, mostly food supplies, to the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor besieged by ISIL (Daesh) terrorists, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.
"Russian airline's aircraft has delivered humanitarian aid from the UN, food packages and grains, 18 tons overall, to Deir ez-Zor, besieged by ISIL militants," the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.
Moreover, four metric tonnes of humanitarian aid, including grains and flour, were delivered to the residents of a village in the Hama province.
Russia has been supplying food, medicine and construction materials to besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria since the beginning of 2016.
Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.