The UN opened a new Syria aid corridor on Thursday (June 15th), which may help get supplies to desperate people fleeing the al-Raqa stronghold of the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS), AFP reported.

"Courageous humanitarian workers have been now travelling for days to open a new corridor from Aleppo in the west to Qamishli," said Jan Egeland, head of the UN-backed aid taskforce for Syria.

Humanitarian workers have faced daunting challenges in responding to the crisis in al-Raqa, where the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are battling to oust ISIS.

Tens of thousands of people have fled, but access to the remote region has proved difficult. The UN has relied on costly aid air drops to Qamishli, north-east of al-Raqa, from regime-held Damascus.

Road convoys, which would get more supplies in than expensive air drops, was the only "sensible" option, said Egeland.

But the UN has voiced concern about the safety of the route, which had been closed since 2013, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UN estimates that nearly 170,000 people fled al-Raqa city and its environs in April and May alone, and thousands of displaced civilians are now living in overcrowded and under-resourced camps. The UN expects new waves of displacement as the battle inside al-Raqa city progresses.