Syria agrees to expand access to humanitarian aid for earthquake victims, says UN

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to allow the delivery of United Nations aid to the opposition-held northwestern Syria through two border crossings from Turkey for three months, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

Assad agreed to open the Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ee crossings, Guterres said in a statement after UN aid chief Martin Griffiths met with the Syrian president in Damascus on Friday. Griffiths briefed the UN Security Council on Assad during a closed-door meeting, diplomats previously told Reuters.

The move comes a week after two earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 37,000 people. Assad’s agreement means the United Nations can now use a total of three border crossings from Turkey to reach war-torn northwest Syria.

The UN already has a Security Council mandate to use the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. It has been using the route since 2014 to deliver aid to millions of people in need in the northwest. The Security Council agreed to the mandate after the Syrian government opposed the move.

“As the toll from the February 6 earthquake continues to rise, delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is critical,” Guterres said.

WATCH | Desperate need for aid in Syria:

Footage from a Syrian hospital shows the need for help

A surgeon who has operated on an earthquake survivor for about an hour shared an exclusive recording from Syria to show the desperate need for medical help. Meanwhile, a team of doctors from Canada and the US are on their way to help.

Syria calls aid a ‘violation of sovereignty’

“Opening these crossing points – along with facilitating humanitarian access, speeding up visa approvals and facilitating travel between hubs – will allow more aid to enter, faster,” he said.

The Syrian government opposes aid shipments across its border, describing it as a violation of its sovereignty. It said more aid should be sent to the front lines of the 12-year-old civil war.

It is unclear whether some western councilors could still push for the adoption of a resolution to complete Assad’s three-month deal to open two border crossings. The resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes from Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass.

Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said a resolution was not needed “because this is Syria’s sovereign decision.” He said that the Security Council is now ordering UN aid access through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing as a violation of Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Polyanskiy said any push for a resolution would politicize the issue and not help the Syrian people.

The UN Ambassador in Syria Bassam Sabbagh confirmed that Syria will support the delivery of humanitarian aid through all possible points from inside Syria or across the border for three months. He told reporters that a council resolution was not needed because it was an agreement between Syria and the United Nations.