A few days later the Muslim holy month of Ramadan finishes. Russia along with Egypt has called on all the parties of the Syrian conflict to refrain from the fighting and strictly observe the ceasefire during this time. However, not all the warring militias in Syria has listened to this. Nevertheless, Russia continues to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrians.
As stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, recently the deputy head of the Hero of Russia Ahmad-Haji Kadyrov Regional Public Fund, the Federation Council member, Ziad Sabsabi, visited Syria on a humanitarian mission.
Under the fund’s charity programme, 25,000 Syrians are receiving free daily meals throughout the month of Ramadan.About 250 local volunteers representing various political movements and students’ associations are involved in the mission. The fund intends to distribute 120 tons of food to Damascus residents.
But the humanitarian programs are opposed by terrorists. On June 15, in the Homs province, Andrei Timoshenkov, a serviceman of the armed escort for a Russian humanitarian aid convoy of the Russian Centre for Syrian Reconciliation, at the cost of his own life, prevented a car bomb from breaking through to a humanitarian aid distribution point.
According to local media reports, four US military advisors were injured with rocket fragments following a jihadist attack in northern Syria. Kurdish armed groups are advancing near the Manbij area in the north of the Aleppo province. They have significantly expanded their control over the city perimeter, freeing a number of local villages from terrorists.
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the difficult situation in Syria requires the consolidation of all patriotic forces of that country by maintaining and strengthening the ceasefire in the intra-Syrian confrontation and at the same time building up efforts in the fight against terrorists and eradicating their base on Syrian soil.
The United Nations and the member states of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) have recently noted substantial progress on ensuring humanitarian access to several villages in need of it on Syrian territory. About 334,000 people received humanitarian relief as compared to 240,000 last March. It was provided to 16 out of 18 besieged regions. UN officials and the Syrian authorities are conducting talks on the remaining two regions, in part, specifying the number of beneficiaries. New convoys are expected this week.
Since the beginning of the year almost a million people from difficult-to-access areas received humanitarian aid.
Maria Zakharova spoke about the constructive cooperation of Damascus officials with international relief agencies: "These are very important activities that are required as never before. We are witnessing a steady trend that should not be interrupted.".
At the same time it would be wrong to reduce Syria’s humanitarian issues to access to its problematic regions. The number of people requiring help far exceeds the number of recipients. According to verified data from international agencies, 13.5 million Syrian residents need such relief, primarily displaced persons who fled hostilities or who are returning home after their villages were freed from terrorists.
