Foreign media reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has approved two points near the border from Turkiye to Syria to help with earthquake relief.
Summarizing foreign media outlets such as CNN and The Guardian, the United Nations said, “On the 13th (local time), the junction between Bab al-Salam and Alai, which runs from Turkiye to northwestern Syria, will be opened for three months so that President Assad can provide humanitarian aid at an appropriate time. We welcome the decision to do so.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that “opening the crossing point will allow more aid to enter more quickly”. ) makes it easy to move between hubs.”
Previously, UN Secretary-General Guterres said after a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on the afternoon of the 13th that President Assad is changing his mind.
As the central axis of earthquake response has shifted from rescue to recovery, the procurement of relief materials has emerged as an urgent task. Martin Griffiths, UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Relief, visited Aleppo, Syria on the 13th and observed the devastation at the scene, saying, “The end of rescue is approaching,” and pointed out the need for a shift to shelter, food, and education.
With the approval of the additional route by the Assad government, it is expected that it will be possible to procure aid supplies to rebel-controlled areas in northwestern Syria, which have been difficult to access due to a 12-year civil war between the Assad government and rebel forces. Until this decision, the only way to enter Idlib, Syria, which was controlled by Syrian rebels, by land was through the Bab al-Hawa border.
The procurement of UN aid materials, which began on the 9th, was only possible through Bab al-Hawa, so emergency relief vehicles could reach Syria from Turkey. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a total of 58 trucks carrying UN aid supplies have entered northwestern Syria through this point.
In the past, efforts to find other routes for humanitarian aid to rebel-held areas have failed due to Russia and China exercising their veto power. Russia and China objected to it, citing it as undermining the Syrian government’s sovereignty. Authorizing new routes to contact rebels without the consent of President Assad’s regime violates Syria’s sovereignty.
At a press conference held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the 9th, Secretary-General Guterres said, “Syrian people are facing the biggest nightmare of all nightmares. The quake comes as the humanitarian crisis in northwestern Syria is deteriorating, and the need for (humanitarian aid) is at its highest level since the civil war began.
It is known that the environment in the rebel-held area in northwestern Syria is already poor. Some analysts say that even before the earthquake on the 6th, 4.1 million people were relying on international relief supplies.
President Al-Assad met with Deputy Secretary-General Griffith on the 13th and acknowledged the need for aid in rebel-held areas in northwestern Syria, while also requesting the international community to make efforts to rebuild infrastructure.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.