UN aid enters opposition-held Syria from government territory for first time since deadly earthquake

By GHAITH ALSAYED and ABBY SEWELL

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — A convoy carrying United Nations aid has entered opposition-held Idlib from government-held Syria, the first such shipment to cross battle lines since a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria in February. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that an aid convoy carrying humanitarian supplies crossed from Aleppo to northwest Syria on Friday. The last aid shipment to cross battle lines into the northwest was on Jan. 8. In the wake of the earthquake that struck Turkey and northern Syria on Feb. 6, causing widespread destruction, convoys have been prevented from entering Idlib from government-held areas by the formerly al-Qaida-affiliated rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which dominates the area.