UN humanitarian affairs official arrives in Syria

UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos arrived in Syria Saturday amid a flurry of aid meetings underway in the conflict-torn country.

Amos's visit came just one day after Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, arrived in Damascus for talks on broader access to besieged areas and visits to detention centres.

Sources told Xinhua that both Amos and Maurer will visit displacement centres in the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana and Seihnaya Saturday.

A couple of days ago, World Food Programme director Ertharin Cousin also visited Syria and held talks with top officials, including Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.

Al-Halqi reiterated Thursday his government's commitment to delivering humanitarian aid to people affected by the conflict, adding that the government has been working to bolster the economy devastated by the three-year-old crisis.

To date, more than 100,000 people have been killed in the fighting and hundreds are daily joining the millions of internally displaced persons or those seeking refuge abroad.