IDLIB: The United Nations Secretary-General hopes that the Security Council will vote later this month to keep a major border crossing from Turkiye to Syria’s rebel-held northwest open for critical relief deliveries for a year rather than six months, a UN source said Tuesday.
Idlib, Syria’s northwestern region, is home to over 4 million people, many of whom were previously displaced during the 12-year civil war that has killed nearly half a million people. Hundreds of thousands of people live in tent cities and rely on aid delivered through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing.
Because the current six-month opening period expires on July 10, the Security Council is expected to vote in the coming days.
The situation deteriorated following the Feb. 6 earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, which killed tens of thousands of people and left many more homeless and in need of relief.
Russia, Syria’s biggest supporter, has previously abstained or vetoed resolutions on cross-border humanitarian delivery. It has attempted to replace relief convoys from government-held areas in Syria crossing the Turkish border to Idlib province. Turkiye has stood with and supported the rebels in Syria since the beginning of the conflict.
In 2014, the Security Council authorised humanitarian deliveries from Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan via four crossing points into opposition-held parts of Syria. However, Russia, with the support of its partner China, has limited the authorised crossings from Turkiye to just one — and the time frame from a year to six months.
“The UN Secretary-General has been very clear that he would like the Security Council to renew the cross-border resolution that expires on 10 July for another year,” said David Carden, the UN’s Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria. During a visit to Idlib, he spoke with journalists.
He stated that a 12-month extension was required for the UN to execute early rehabilitation measures such as long-term shelters. “What we want is to get people out of tents and into durable shelter,” he added, noting that such shelters are cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, in addition to providing families with privacy.
According to the UN, the February earthquake killed over 4,500 people in northeastern Syria and damaged or destroyed the homes of 855,000 people.
Following the earthquake, two new border crossings between Turkiye and Syria were temporarily opened for three months. In May, they were extended for another three months to help with the flow of relief.
Source: