Looming humanitarian disaster | UN warn against unprecedented serious consequences in north-west Syria region

United Nations keep warning against unprecedented disastrous consequences in north-west Syria region, in the case that the authorization allowing entry of humanitarian assistance via Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border is not renovated, before it becomes invalid on July 10, 2021.

 

This crossing is the region “artery”, as humanitarian aid enter to north-west Syria directly from Turkey via the crossing, under authorization by United Nations Security Council.

 

In a statement to SOHR, the Syrian politician Samirah Mbayad states “the file of assistance is endanger because of the attempts to politicize it, although it is a humanitarian file and it has to be away from any political issues and disagreements.”

 

Mrs. Samira sees that the closure of the external crossings to north Syria and opening of internal crossings with regime-controlled areas brings the region which hosts half of the Syrian population, mostly have fled from the regime’s tyrannical rule, to the Syrian regime’s dominance.

 

“The situation has raised reservation of great powers which are seeking after finding solutions for evading an unwelcome scenario, as they are attempting to reach consensus among the influential parties, and we hope to see the results of such efforts on the ground, which will help to secure the needs of the Syrian people. We also have to work on developing these areas, so that a real chance for a change in Syria will be available,” Mrs. Samira said.

 

The file of the humanitarian assistance and the mechanism of entering it to Syria is still unclosed and has become an issue that threatens millions of people, at a time when US is leading a diplomatic campaign to embarrass Russia and prevent it from using VETO against the decision of extending the authorization to let assistance enter Syria from the crossing which is under the control of Turkish-backed factions.

 

Syrian politicians have expected that the incoming session in the UN Security Council will see a conflict between western countries on one hand, and Russia and China on the other.

 

The fate of millions of Syrian people is dependent on the international consensus in the Security Council and on the narrow political considerations and personal interests.

 

We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, call for not tampering with the fate of the people and warn against any decision that may lead to the closure of the “artery” of the area.

 

It is worth noting that the UN Security Council issued a decree allowing the entry of assistance via border crossings, including crossings with Iraq and Jordan, for the first time in 2014. However, the transporting of assistance to Syria from Jordan and Iraq has been suspended since January 2020, because of disagreement by Russia and China.