BEIRUT: An impasse at the UN over a border crossing with the last rebel-held enclave in Syria is putting 4.1 million Syrians’ lives at risk, the International Rescue Committee president warned this week.
David Miliband’s warning came more than two weeks after the United Nations Security Council failed to renew the deal for the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing between Turkiye and Syria, which procures aid for Syrians in the enclave.
The great majority of people in Syria live in poverty and rely on aid packages to survive — a crisis that was further worsened by a destructive magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkiye and Syria in February. The shake killed more than 50,000 people, including more than 6,000 in Syria.
Miliband said that the people of Syria cannot afford a new wave of suffering, having lived through the crisis of the earthquake, according to media reports.
He urged the UNSC to fulfill its responsibility and resume the humanitarian border crossing.
Resolutions on Syria
The UNSC, earlier in July, failed to approve one of two rival resolutions on the issue. Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, vetoed a Swiss-Brazilian compromise resolution supported by Western nations that renewed permission for the crossing of aid through Bab Al-Hawa for 6 months. Moscow’s resolution with additional needs — including increasing aid delivery to the opposition parts through Damascus — only received China’s support.
