These were illicitly transferred to the German merchant ship Victoria at Syria's Latakia port.

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One of Syria's latest flash points is Haffa, a mountaintop village overlooking the coastal western city of Latakia.

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The Alawite region is largely along the coast, with Latakia at its center.

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The UNHCR said it had delivered blankets and tents in an eight-truck convoy from an airport near the coastal city of Latakia.

BBC: UN aid reaches Syria rebel-held northern area of Azaz

In a separate development, the first of two Russian planes with humanitarian aid landed in the Syrian port of Latakia, Russia's Interfax news agency reports.

BBC: Syria conflict: 'Army rocket kills 31 in Aleppo'

The region is of strategic value to Assad's regime because it links Damascus with the coastal enclave that is the heartland of Syria's Alawites and also home to the country's two main seaports, Latakia and Tartus.

NPR: Syrian Troops Capture Key Town Near Damascus

The border region near Homs on the Syria side is strategic because it links Damascus with the coastal enclave that is the heartland of Syria's Alawites and is also home to the country's two main seaports, Latakia and Tartus.

NPR: Hezbollah-Backed Lebanese Shiites Fight In Syria

Officials from the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation plan to go on a mission led by the Syrian government to the provinces of Homs, Hama, Tartous, Latakia, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Rif Damashq and Daraa to assess humanitarian needs.

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