The United Nations has warned of the consequences of the failure to extend the authorization for the delivery of humanitarian aid through Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey. The authorization expires on July 10 and was given by UN Security Council Resolution 2585 issued of July 2021.
“Humanitarian needs are unprecedented. Today, 14.6 million men, women and children require aid, which is an increase of 1.2 million people from 2021 and the highest level since the crisis began,” said Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General said at a daily press briefing on Tuesday.
“The rapid rise is driven by a deepening economic crisis, ongoing displacement, continued fighting in some parts of the country and climate shocks. More than 90 per cent of Syrians are currently estimated to live in poverty and food insecurity has reached historic levels.”
International aid agencies have previously warned that food supplies in northwest Syria will be depleted by September if the United Nations mandate for the last border crossing into the region is not extended in July.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) earlier called for extending the UN resolution on the cross-border entry of aid, stressing that no one should succumb to Russia’s blackmail and its attempt to obstruct the renewal of the UN authorization. It also stressed that humanitarian aid must not be sent through the Assad regime because it is using it to feed its allied militias.
The SOC made it clear that Syrians do not see aid as an end in itself, but a means they were forced to use to survive and cope with the harsh conditions they are going through. It also stressed that the Syrian people’s primary goal is to get rid of the Assad regime, hold it accountable, and rebuild Syria so that they can return to their homes and build a new Syria that preserves human freedom and dignity.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
