Besieged Syrian civilians waited desperately for aid as relief convoys remained on hold Wednesday despite a significant drop in violence almost 48 hours after a ceasefire took effect.

The convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour for 40,000 people, entered Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu, about 40km west of Aleppo, on Tuesday. However, they made it little further than the Turkish customs post.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Tuesday that the UN was still waiting for Damascus to issue letters authorising aid deliveries.

However, the Syrian government said in a statement that it would not allow the entry of Turkish aid trucks into besieged parts of Aleppo without its permission, leading to accusations that the government is purposely blocking humanitarian aid.

The deadlock in aid deliveries further complicates the already fragile truce brokered between Washingon and Moscow.