The United Nations ends Turkey’s aid to northwestern Syria after the Security Council failed to renew approval

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday failed to renew authorization for the delivery of humanitarian aid into rebel-held northwest Syria from neighboring Turkey, officially ending a UN operation that was vital to aiding a region of 4.1 million people.

The council failed to adopt either of the two competing resolutions to allow more shipments through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, as the last six-month mandate expired on Monday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad opened two additional crossing points from Turkey at Bab al-Salama and al-Rai to increase the flow of aid for victims of the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck northwest Syria and southern Turkey on February 8. For three months in May until August 13, the United Nations said it would continue to use those crossings to deliver aid.

But UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that 85 percent of UN aid to the northwest passes by truck through Bab al-Hawa, which is closest to those in need, and “we’re not going to be able to match that” with two crossings still available. He added that the UN had pre-positioned supplies in the area before the vote, so cutting off supplies through Bab al-Hawa should not have an immediate effect.

However, Bab al-Hawa remains the “center of gravity” for UN cross-border deliveries, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls on all members of the Security Council to redouble their efforts to support the continued provision of cross-border assistance to the millions. Of the people who are in dire need in northwest Syria for as long as possible.

Read more: The Arab League votes to reinstate Syria’s membership after 12 years of suspension

Idlib province in northwestern Syria is home to about 4.1 million people, many of whom were forced to leave their homes during the 12-year civil war, which has claimed nearly half a million lives and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. . Hundreds of thousands of people in Idlib live in camps and depend on aid that comes through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

The earthquake killed more than 4,500 people in northwest Syria and damaged or destroyed the homes of about 855,000 people, according to the United Nations.

Russia vetoed a settlement resolution that would have extended the UN operation through Bab al-Fawa by nine months, which was supported by 13 of the council’s 15 members, as well as the secretary-general and humanitarian organizations.

A rival Russian resolution that would have extended aid deliveries by six months but added new requirements failed to obtain a minimum of nine “yes” votes for approval and was supported only by Russia and China. The other three council members – the United States, the United Kingdom and France – voted against the resolution, with 10 countries abstaining.

The Bab al-Salama and al-Rai crossings were not mentioned in either resolution, and Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzya – Syria’s closest ally – said they were still operational. He accused the West of doing another act of “show-off”, and of deceit when it claimed that keeping Bab al-Hawa meant “life or death” for the millions in Idlib, whom he called “terrorists”.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that Assad has reportedly told the United Nations and some council members that he is willing to keep the crossings open after August 13, but has made no public commitment. If he does not, she said, “we will put this at the top of the Council’s agenda during our presidency of the Security Council in August.”

Brazil and Switzerland had originally circulated a draft resolution calling for extending the mandate of the Bab al-Hawa crossing by 12 months and reducing the time frame to nine months on Monday in a bid for compromise, but it failed.

Russia has pushed for more aid deliveries across the front lines inside Syria, giving the Syrian government control over shipments.

Nebenzia told the Security Council, after vetoing the nine-month resolution, that the Bab al-Hawa crossing could be saved — but only if Russia’s rival six-month resolution was approved. If not, he said, Russia would not accept any short extension of the existing mandate known as a “technical extension” and the cross-border mechanism would be closed.

Thomas Greenfield said Russia acted like a “playground bully” in trying to enforce its version of an extradition authorization.

She said the Russian proposal would not guarantee that aid would reach people during the cold winter months and that the United States “could not in good conscience support the text Russia imposed on the council”.

The Russian draft includes language that supports the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which has for years delayed negotiations led by the United Nations on a new constitution as a key step to elections and an end to the conflict that began in 2011, and would extend Bab al-Hawa’s mandate. Through January 10, 2024 in the middle of winter.

He also touched on the sanctions of the United States and the European Union against Syria, calling for “non-interference by imposing unilateral sanctions in the humanitarian operations in Syria” and calling on the Secretary-General to submit a special report on the impact of these measures in December.

The Security Council initially authorized aid deliveries in 2014 from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan through four crossing points to opposition-held areas of Syria. But over the years, Russia, a close ally of Syria, backed by China, has reduced authorized crossings into Bab al-Hawa only from Turkey – and the mandate from a year to six months.

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