HATAY, Turkey

The United Nations on Friday sent 56 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Idlib, a northwestern Syrian province where millions remain in desperate need of assistance.

The aid trucks entered Syria through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province, which borders Idlib.

The supplies will be distributed to people in Idlib city and nearby rural areas.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million remain displaced, according to UN estimates.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018.

The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire agreements since then but the deals have been frequently violated by the Assad regime and its allies.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-weary country.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar