Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/NEW YORK: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to open two more border crossings to allow aid to reach victims of the quake that has killed over 35,000 people in the country and Neighbouring Turkiye
Before the earthquake, nearly all of the essential humanitarian aid for the more than four million people living in rebel-controlled areas of northwestern Syria was delivered from Turkey via a single route, the Bab al-Hawa crossing.
UN’s statement about crossing points after the quake hit Syria
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that opening these crossing points, accelerating visa approvals, facilitating humanitarian access, and easing travel between hubs will allow more aid to go quickly to quake-hit areas.
He said that Bashar al-Assad had agreed to open the two crossing points of Al Raee and Bab Al-Salam from Türkey to northwest Syria for three months to allow for timely humanitarian assistance.
With the death toll from the earthquake still rising and survivors facing harsh winter conditions in war-torn Syria, Guterres said, “delivering food, nutrition, health, protection, shelter, winter supplies, and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is of the utmost urgency.” The announcement came a day after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Assad in Damascus to discuss the response to last week’s devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey.
The situation is especially dire in the rebel-held northwest region of Syria, which cannot receive aid convoys from government-held areas without Damascus’ permission.
