GENEVA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said Friday that over the past nine days it took part in one of the largest and most complex UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) humanitarian missions in the past eight years of the Syria crisis.
The joint aid convoy delivered desperately-needed aid to more than 40,000 people stranded in the remote Rukban makeshift settlement in southeastern Syria.
It was the second such convoy organized from within Syria, the first conducted in November 2018.
"The conditions in Rukban are desperate. It's a no man's land; there are practically no services, access to clean water is very limited. Even the most basic healthcare does not exist, and overall health conditions are catastrophic," said UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic at a UN press briefing here.
The winter months have exacerbated an already dire situation, and at least eight young children have died in the last month, he said.
The weeklong mission included more than 300 humanitarian staff and volunteers and well over 100 trucks loaded with aid, bringing food, medicines and medical equipment, winter equipment and clothing, shelter, plus hygiene kits for women and girls along with nutrition, education and children's kits.
As part of the broader aid effort, the UNHCR team spent more than a week in Rukban and spoke with families, especially women, from various ages to understand the difficulties they face daily.
Most of the civilian population at Rukban are women and children, living in makeshift and scattered shelters, without privacy nor protection from the harsh weather conditions.
"Children are walking around barefoot through puddles and mud, in cold and continuous rain," said Mahecic.
