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Syrian regime agrees to open two new crossings for UN quake aid

The head of the Syrian opposition-run main rescue group lambasted the UN’s decision that gave Bashar al Assad a say in sanctioning their aid deliveries, saying it gave him “free political gain.”

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The United Nations has been under intense pressure to get more aid and heavy equipment into Syria’s opposition-held northwest since the earthquake struck a week ago, with survivors lacking the means to dig for other survivors and the death toll mounting.

Syria's Bashar al Assad has agreed to open two new crossing points from Türkiye to the country’s opposition-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment to help millions of earthquake victims.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement on Tuesday by Bashar al Assad to open crossing points at Bab al Salam and Al Raee for an initial period of three months.

Currently, the UN has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab al Hawa, at Syrian ally Russia’s insistence.

The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus earlier on Monday between Assad and UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who spent the weekend viewing the devastation caused by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that ravaged southern Türkiye and northwestern Syria.

In response, the head of the Syrian opposition-run main rescue group lambasted the UN’s decision that gave Assad a say in sanctioning their aid deliveries, saying it gave him “free political gain.”

“This is shocking and we are at loss at how the UN is behaving,” Raed al Saleh, head of the White Helmets group, told Reuters, echoing sentiment among many Syrians in the opposition-held enclave.

Life-saving supplies

Guterres’ official announcement came during a closed meeting of the UN Security Council where diplomats said Griffiths announced Assad’s agreement to open the two new crossings during a virtual briefing.

Syria’s UN ambassador, Bassam Sabbagh, told reporters while the meeting was taking place that Assad held a “positive and constructive meeting” with Griffiths and “confirmed the need for urgent aid to enter all regions in Syria."

“Based on that, Syria supports the entry of humanitarian aid into the region through all possible cross points whatever —from inside Syria, or across the borders— for the period of three months to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to our people in ... northwestern Syria," Sabbagh said.

Brazil and Switzerland, which oversee Syria cross-border issues in the council, asked for “quick implementation" of the agreement to open the two new crossings.

“We certainly hope Assad is serious about this," US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. It would be “a good thing for the Syrian people," he said, noting the Syrian regime's previous opposition to additional humanitarian crossings.

Guterres said in a statement that with the rising death toll “delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is of the utmost urgency.”

“Opening these crossing points — along with facilitating humanitarian access, accelerating visa approvals and easing travel between hubs — will allow more aid to go in, faster,” the UN chief said.

The toll in the northwestern opposition-held region has reached 2,166, according to the rescue group the White Helmets, while 1,414 people have died in regime-held areas, according to the Syrian Regime's Health Ministry in Damascus. The overall death toll in Syria stands at 3,580.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies