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GENEVA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- A planned aid convoy containing mainly food has been unable to reach the besieged Syrian town of Darayya as planned, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke said Tuesday.
The shipment was meant to follow last week's first humanitarian instalment after the town received medical and nutritional supplies for children for the first time since 2012.
"We've only received a partial approval for overland transport of that second instalment," Laerke explained.
In light of protracted challenges to cater to the needs of those living in besieged and hard to reach areas because of ongoing restrictions, plans to carry out airdrops are still being considered.
"The humanitarian coordinator submitted to the government on Sunday a request for full approvals to deliver a complete package of assistance to all the locations that were either partially approved or not approved," said the Director of the United Nations Information Service, Ahmad Fawzi.
"Air delivery is not off the table, whether its high altitude or helicopter. The World Food Programme has drawn up a comprehensive plan over a two month period as a last resort to deliver by air to the locations I just mentioned," he added.
As of June 1, UN figures reveal that 269,250 people out of the 592,000 civilians living in besieged areas have received life-saving humanitarian assistance so far this year.
