UN aid convey reaches Syria via Damascus-Sweida Highway successfully

(MENAFN) An aid convoy has successfully reached Syria’s southern Sweida governorate via the Damascus-Sweida Highway for the first time since mid-July, according to UN humanitarian officials. The route had been inaccessible for weeks due to ongoing fighting.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that previous convoys had to use longer, less direct paths, creating additional logistical and security challenges. The latest convoy, arriving Thursday, involved the United Nations, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and other partners. It included 19 trucks carrying food baskets, hygiene kits, nutritional supplies, fuel, medical materials, and solar lamps.

Humanitarian partners reported that clashes in Sweida since mid-July have displaced over 187,000 people across southern Syria. Between July and August, nearly 370,000 residents in Sweida, Daraa, and Rural Damascus received aid.

OCHA emphasized that the UN and its partners are continuing to expand relief efforts. The highway had been blocked in early July due to clashes between Druze factions and Bedouin tribes. Although a fragile ceasefire was arranged in late July, tensions in the region remain high.

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