Extreme situations lead to calls for humanitarian aid air drops to besieged Syrian towns

The UN Security Council will meet on Friday to discuss the air drops.

This comes after the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) set a deadline of 1 June for the distribution of urgent humanitarian supplies last month.

However, only a small amount of aid was delivered on Wednesday and a convoy to the town of Darayya near Damascus did not carry food. According to the BBC, ehe aid convoy, the first since November 2012, contained vaccines, baby milk, medicine and nutritional goods.

Separately, a month after the last aid convoys visited, the rebel-held town of Muadhamiya received deliveries of food parcels and wheat flour on Wednesday.

British foreign secretary Philip Hammond said the Syrian government had failed to deliver the widespread humanitarian access called for by the international community.

"While air drops are complex, costly and risky, they are now the last resort to relieve human suffering across many besieged areas," he said.

He called on Russia and Iran, which back the Syrian government, to use their influence to ensure the air drops could proceed safely, according to the BBC.

UN emergency relief co-ordinator Stephen O'Brien said in April that the Syrian government had ignored "countless" requests for aid to be allowed in.

An aid convoy was blocked from entering the town last month, despite all involved parties agreeing aid could be delivered.

The latest delivery was made by teams from the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent.

Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday it had agreed a pause with the Syrian authorities for 48 hours to allow for the distribution of humanitarian aid in Darayya.