A humanitarian convoy entered Eastern Ghouta on Friday for the second time since a Syrian government assault on the rebel-held enclave began last month.
Monday’s convoy was intended for 70,000 people in Douma, well below the broader suburb’s besieged population of 393,000. Humanitarian workers said shelling broke out as they delivered aid and they had to leave before completing the delivery.
“We delivered as much as we could amidst shelling. Civilians are caught in a tragic situation,” Sajjad Malik, the UN refugee agency representative in Syria, said in a tweet earlier this week.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta in two weeks, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Humanitarian teams are also preparing medical supplies for delivery next week, though “that remains to be seen,” said ICRC spokeswoman Iolanda Jaquemet. Before the first delivery this month, Syrian authorities stripped aid vehicles of much-needed medical supplies.
