UN Warns of Catastrophe if Syria Aid Crossing is Shut

Stressing that Syria has one of the most vulnerable populations anywhere in the world, the UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, Mark Cutts, noted that if the last aid corridor from Turkey into northwest Syria’s rebel-held areas is closed, it would spell catastrophe for millions of people.

Speaking ahead of a UN Security Council vote to renew its authorization on assistance delivery through the Bab Al-Hawa crossing before its mandate expires on July 10, the UN aid official has warned that it’s absolutely essential to keep this lifeline going.

The UN resolution permitting aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa has been in effect since 2014.

According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 4,600 aid trucks have crossed it so far this year, carrying mostly food and helping some 2.4 million people.

OCHA says that more than 13.4 million Syrians were in need of assistance last year – up from 11.1 million in 2020 – since the humanitarian needs in the country have reached their highest levels since the start of the bloody conflict in 2011 that has killed nearly half a million people.

Having already forced a reduction in the number of crossings, Damascus ally Russia has threatened to veto the proposal to extend the aid mechanism, arguing that it violates Syria’s sovereignty.

Noting that he’s aware that things this year – due to the war in Ukraine – are even more politicized than in previous years, Cutts warned that there’s currently no available alternative to replace the scale or scope of the UN’s current work on the ground in Syria, so the failure to renew the resolution will be a catastrophe.

Among the alternatives the aid groups are considering as an alternative in the event of a Russian veto, are continuing the cross-border deliveries through a consortium of international aid groups and stepping up deliveries via Damascus.

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