A CONVOY of United Nations lorries carrying food and other supplies crossed into Syria through a Turkish checkpoint on Thursday.

It was the first to do so under a UN resolution authorising cross-border aid deliveries without Syrian government approval.

UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokeswoman Amanda Pitt said the convoy carried desperately needed food, water purification tablets and sanitation and shelter materials. 

The convoy passed through the Bab al-Salam crossing toward rebel-held areas but its destination was not revealed.

“It is, I believe, the first convoy going into Syria through one of the four border crossings under the security-council resolution,” Ms Pitt said.

The council unanimously approved a resolution on July 14 authorising cross-border aid delivery to rebel-held areas without government approval through four crossings — two in Turkey, one in Jordan and one in Iraq.

The announcement coincided with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s monthly report on the worsening humanitarian situation in the conflict, in which more than 150,000 people have died.

Mr Ban denounced “indiscriminate aerial bombings by government forces and indiscriminate shelling by armed opposition, extremist and terrorist groups.” He accused both the Syrian government and opposition fighters of obstructing humanitarian aid as “a tactic of war.”

Mr Ban said both sides had stepped up targeting vital services, interrupting the supply of safe drinking water and electricity.

He added that getting aid to people in hard-to-reach areas remained “extremely difficult” because of new procedures which have centralised government approvals.