UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 : A deal has been reached with the Government of Syria to reopen the main border crossing from T\u00fcrkiye to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in rebel-held area of the country\u2019s northwest, the UN announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n
For the next six months, the Bab al-Hawa border crossing will be accessible and allow much-needed assistance to reach millions of people.<\/p>\n
Bab al-Hawa has been used since 2014, when the UN Security Council authorized cross-border relief deliveries \u201cacross conflict lines\u201d. Around 85 per cent of aid deliveries have passed through Bab al-Hawa from T\u00fcrkiye since then.<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision, following talks between UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and Syrian government officials, said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.<\/p>\n
The agreement also involved authorization for the UN to use the Bab al-Salam and Al-Ra\u2019ee border crossings for an additional three months, which originally opened earlier this year as part of the emergency response to the earthquake disaster that hit Syria and T\u00fcrkiye in February.<\/p>\n
This news comes as humanitarian needs are at an all-time high after more than 12 years of war and in the wake of the devastating double earthquakes that struck the region in February.<\/p>\n
Almost 12 million people \u2013 more than half the population of Syria \u2013 do not have enough to eat and a further 2.9 million are at risk of sliding into hunger, according to the UN.<\/p>\n
In June, Griffiths warned that \u201ctwelve years of conflict, economic collapse, and other factors have pushed 90 per cent of the population below the poverty line.\u201d<\/p>\n
UN humanitarians warned UN Security Council members earlier this summer that Syrians are facing an \u201cever worsening humanitarian crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
The northwest region is the last opposition stronghold in Syria, and aid has been delivered there from T\u00fcrkiye through a cross-border mechanism first authorized by the UN Security Council in 2014.<\/p>\n
In July 2023, an initial attempt to renew the agreement at the UN Security Council failed, due to a veto from Russia.<\/p>\n
The first draft resolution, tabled by Brazil and Switzerland, called for a nine-month extension and included a paragraph on the expansion of crossline operations, increased funding, enhanced early recovery activities and humanitarian mine action.<\/p>\n
Although 13 of the 15 countries in the Council voted in favour of the resolution, it was struck down by a no vote from Russia, one of the five permanent members. China, another permanent member, abstained.<\/p>\n
The latest agreement will see the delivery of life-saving supplies to populations in the northwest \u2013 despite the worrying funding shortfalls that still hinder the humanitarian response.<\/p>\n
Ramesh Rajasingham of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said In July that \u201cdespite these severe vulnerabilities, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is only 12.4 per cent funded.\u201d He warned that in the absence of urgent funding, humanitarians will have to make \u201cdifficult choices again this year\u201d.<\/p>\n
The \u201cunprecedented\u201d funding crisis in Syria has also forced agencies like the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to announce vast cuts to aid provisions, including reductions to monthly food rations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 : A deal has been reached with the Government of Syria to reopen the main border crossing from T\u00fcrkiye to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in rebel-held area of the country\u2019s northwest, the UN announced Wednesday. For the next six months, the Bab al-Hawa border crossing will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[85],"class_list":{"0":"post-348366","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-united-nations"},"yoast_head":"\n