Syria Conflict: Besieged Town Of Daraya Bombed After Receiving First Food Aid In Four Years

Barrel bombs were dropped on a Syrian suburb Friday barely a day after the besieged town received its first food aid drop in four years, according to the local council of the town.

In a Facebook post, the local council of Daraya said that at least 18 “explosive” barrel bombs were dropped at 9 a.m., local time, (2 a.m. EDT) and midday. The area is currently held by the rebels.

The Damascus suburb was delivered food aid late Thursday by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations for the first time since it came under siege in 2012. The move came hours after the Syrian government reportedly approved access to 15 of the 19 besieged areas in the country.

Last Tuesday, Daraya became the first besieged Syrian town to receive a Red Cross convoy carrying medical supplies, vaccines and nutritional items such as baby milk, but no food. The delivery was carried out by both U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) staff along with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

SARC said the food delivery was coordinated with the United Nations in the Syrian capital and that food, flour and medical supplies were delivered. An amateur video posted online showed U.N. SUVs and white SARC trucks driving through sand barriers in the dark until they were met by opposition fighters, according to the Associated Press.

Lifting the siege on rebel-held areas has been the key demand by the opposition during U.N.-backed peace talks held in Geneva earlier this year.

The rebel-held suburb of Daraya lies just southwest of the Syrian capital city, Damascus, and has witnessed some of the worst bombardment during the country's civil war, which is now in its sixth year. The U.N. estimates that there are currently 592,700 people living under siege in Syria, with the vast majority of them — some 452,700 people — besieged by government forces.

Syrian President Bashar Assad had Tuesday vowed to fight until he took back “every inch” of the country from his foes.