February 14, 2023 at 01:18 GMT
Updated 51 minutes ago
Image source, Getty Images
picture description,
Buildings were destroyed in parts of north-west Syria such as Jindayris
The Syrian government has agreed to allow the United Nations to use two more border crossings to deliver aid to opposition-held northwestern areas devastated by last week’s earthquakes, the United Nations said.
“That will make a big difference. We now only use one crossing,” a UN spokesman told the BBC.
But the White Helmets rescue group has criticized the UN for waiting for President Bashar al-Assad’s permission.
Many Syrians are angry at the lack of aid to their war-torn nation.
Countries with friendly ties to Mr Assad, including Russia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, began flying aid supplies to government-controlled areas of Syria shortly after earthquakes struck neighboring southern Turkey eight days ago.
But the opposition-held north-west – where around 4.1 million people depended on humanitarian aid to survive even before the disaster – received no aid shipments from the UN via Turkey as of Thursday.
The United Nations blamed damage to roads leading to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, the only land route approved by the UN Security Council.
By Monday, 58 aid trucks with food, tents and medicines had driven into the opposition enclave. However, they did not contain the heavy machinery and other specialized equipment requested by the White Helmets, whose first responders are leading the rescue effort there.
Using other border crossings with Turkey has been opposed by Russia, a key ally of Mr Assad, and China since 2020. Until now, they have insisted that all other UN supplies must go through Damascus and cross the front lines. Only 10 such convoys have been authorized in all of last year.
The UN made the announcement about using the Bab al-Salam and al-Raee crossings – both controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels – after high-level talks with President Assad on Monday in Damascus.
The transitions are initially open for three months, it said.
“Very soon we will use the other two crossings,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight programme.
“We hope the deal lasts as long as we need it to. We’re going to start doing that as soon as possible and I don’t want to make any assumptions, the only thing I want to assume is that people will put politics aside wherever they are in this conflict.”
He gave no further details on when the two crossings will open and defended the delay in waiting for government approval.
“It is our understanding that other aid agencies not affiliated with the UN have used these border crossings. We have to operate within certain limits, that is the nature of the United Nations.”
Mr Assad did not comment on the announcement. But when asked by a reporter why it had taken a week, his envoy to the UN, Bassam al-Sabbagh, replied: “Why are you asking me? … We are not the one controlling those borders.”
The White Helmets chief accused Mr Assad of a “cynical move that came far too late” and criticized the UN’s decision to seek his approval.
“The UN’s insistence on waiting for permission from the Syrian regime – the very regime that has bombed, gassed, starved, forcibly displaced and imprisoned millions of Syrians – is unforgivable,” he wrote in a statement for CNN.
“It is no secret that the Syrian regime is not a credible partner in addressing the plight of all Syrians in a neutral and impartial manner.”
Mr Saleh separately told Portal that the search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings in the northwest is nearing completion.
“The signs we have are that there aren’t any [survivors]but we’re trying to do our final checks at all sites,” he said.
The White Helmets have reported 2,274 dead and 12,400 wounded in the Northwest so far.
Satellite photos released by Maxar on Monday showed the devastation in Jindayris, a town near the Turkish border, where more than 200 buildings are said to have been completely destroyed.
The White Helmets have recovered at least 517 bodies in Jindayris and described the situation there as “catastrophic”.
The government has reported 1,414 deaths and 2,349 injuries on its territory.
Aleppo province was hard hit, with more than 200,000 people left homeless, according to the UN.