Officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria have delivered 500 food packages for primary school students to the Syrian city of Al-Suqaylabiyah, the Center’s spokesman Alexei Khortanyuk told reporters, adding that the mission had been carried out at the request of the Antiochian Orthodox Church.

Al-Suqaylabiyah is located 50 kilometers away from the city of Hama, not far from Idlib de-escalation zone’s border. Most of Al-Suqaylabiyah’s residents are Christians. According to earlier reports, about 4,000 refugees from Idlib took shelter in the city in August 2018.

"The Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides has carried out a humanitarian mission in the city of Al-Suqaylabiyah, distributing 500 food packages weighing more than two tonnes among those in need. The food packages contain rice, flour, sugar, tea and tinned meat," Khortanyuk said.

The Russian Center for Reconciliation has carried out a total of 2,052 humanitarian missions since 2015, providing over 3,238 tonnes of food, as well as bottled water and basic necessities, to Syrian civilians.

Al-Suqaylabiyah national guard chief Nabel al-Abdullah, in turn, told reporters that "terrorists were regularly shelling the city from their positions located less than a kilometer away" but failed to seize Al-Suqaylabiyah.

"More than 4,000 munitions fell here but we stood our ground and, supported by our army, stopped terrorists from entering the city," he said, adding that the Syrian military continues talks with militants who were ready to lay down their arms and surrender to the authorities.