Article author:
Associated Press
Edith M. Rederer
United Nations (AP) —Russia provides 6 humanitarian aid from Turkey to rebel-controlled northwestern Syria? Agreed to continue for a month. This year, many UN Security Council members, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and more than 30 non-governmental organizations are calling for it.
Russia has proposed amendments to the resolutions by Ireland and Norway, shortening delivery times. The Associated Press also called for further efforts to provide humanitarian assistance "completely, safely and unimpeded" across conflict lines within Syria, according to a Russian draft obtained Wednesday.
In early July 2020, China and Russia rejected a UN resolution to maintain two border crossings from Turkey to provide humanitarian aid to Idlib. A few days later, the council approved the provision of assistance through one of those crossroads, Bab Al Hawa. The one-year mission will be extended for one year on July 9, 2021 and will expire this week.
The UN Security Council will vote on Thursday for a resolution to continue cross-border delivery.
Northwest Idlib is the last rebel fortress in Syria, and al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Taharir Arsham is the strongest rebel group in the region. The United Nations announced last week that more than 300,000 civilians had died in the first decade of the Syrian conflict that began in 2011. This is the highest official estimate of civilian casualties.
In a letter to the Security Council ambassador received by AP on Wednesday, former International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo delivered cross-border deliveries to northwestern Syria. By approving, members of the council warned that "we can substantially support the United Nations." -Designated terrorist organization.
However, any support for "terrorist organizations, including humanitarian aid," was banned by a previous UN Security Council resolution, Ocampo said.
