The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent Society can now officially enter and deliver aid to a besieged district in Homs, Syria.
The Syrian government gave ICRC the permission to enter Baba Amr following the retreat on Thursday (March 1) of rebels who have held the district for months, The Associated Press reports. The aid groups are set to deliver food and medical aid and help evacuate people in the district starting March 2, the news agency adds, citing a spokesperson of the groups.
The rebels holding the district said they decided to pull out to spare the some 4,000 civilians still inside Baba Amr. They also cited “worsening humanitarian conditions, lack of food and medicine and water, electricity and communication cuts as well as shortages in weapons,” The Associated Press says.
ICRC and the Syrian Red Crescent were able to access the besieged district on Monday (Feb. 27) but this is the first time the Syrian government has greenlighted humanitarian access that aid workers and rights groups have been requesting for weeks.
>> Red Cross delivers aid to Homs, Hama
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