UN aid convoy delivers supplies to besieged city in northeast Syria as a shaky ceasefire holds

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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A United Nations aid convoy unloaded humanitarian supplies in the besieged enclave of Kobani in northeast Syria, officials said Monday.

It was the first aid convoy to reach the area since fighting kicked off between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces earlier this month.

The government launched an offensive in which it seized much of the territory previously held by the SDF, leaving pockets of Kurdish-majority areas under SDF control.

A ceasefire that was announced Tuesday and then extended on Saturday for 15 more days appeared to be mostly holding, although sporadic skirmishes have been reported, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

Residents of Kobani, which is surrounded by government-held territory, have reported electricity and water cuts and shortages of essential goods, including bread.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Monday that 24 trucks carrying aid delivered their cargo and exited the enclave. The trucks entered Kobani the day before.

The convoy delivered food, nutritional and health supplies, hygiene materials, winter items, kitchen kits and supplies for children, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. It also included two fuel tankers to resupply the Karakoi water station and help restore water supply to Kobani and surrounding villages.

The fighting in northeast Syria has displaced more than 173,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration. As the situation has remained calm in most areas since the ceasefire, some have begun to return to their homes.

Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.

A new version of the accord was signed on Jan. 18, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.

The ceasefire was extended Saturday to give U.S. forces a chance to transfer accused Islamic State group militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.

Some 7,000 out of a total of 9,000 accused IS members held in Syria are to be moved to Iraq, amid fears they could escape if fighting resumes between government forces and the SDF.

Once in Iraq, prisoners accused of terrorism will be investigated by security forces and tried in domestic courts, Iraqi officials have said.