The UN chief warned in a new report that the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria is worsening and if aid deliveries from Turkiye to the rebel-held northwest aren’t renewed next month millions of Syrians may not survive the winter.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the UN Security Council obtained Monday by The Associated Press that cross-border aid to the northwest remains “an indispensable part” of humanitarian operations to reach all people in need.
Deliveries across conflict lines within the country, which Syria’s close ally Russia has pressed for, have increased but Guterres said they cannot substitute for “the size or scope of the massive cross-border United Nations operation.”
Russia has also pushed for early recovery projects in Syria and Guterres said at least 374 have taken place throughout the country since January, directly benefitting over 665,000 people, but he said “further expansion” is needed.
The council asked for a report from the secretary-general on Syria’s humanitarian needs in the July resolution that extended the delivery of food, medicine and other desperately need aid through the Bab Al-Hawa crossing from Turkiye to northwest Idlib for six months until Jan. 10.
Russia has sought to reduce cross-border aid, with the aim of eliminating it.
In July 2020, China and Russia vetoed a UN resolution that would have maintained two border crossing points from Turkiye for humanitarian aid to northwest Idlib. Days later, the delivery of aid was reduced to just the Bab Al-Hawa crossing for a year as they demanded.
In July 2021, Russia pressed for a further reduction, finally agreeing to a six-month extension with another six-months contingent on a report from the secretary-general on progress in cross-line deliveries. But in July this year, Russia insisted on UN authorization for just six months.
Strongly appealing for Bab Al-Hawa to remain open for UN assistance, Guterres warned that “a halt to cross-border deliveries in the midst of winter months would risk leaving millions of Syrians without the aid needed to endure harsh weather conditions.”
He said cross-border aid “remains a lifeline for millions of people” and Security Council renewal of the resolution authorizing continued deliveries is not only “critical” but “a moral and humanitarian imperative.”
According to his report, 7.5 million people live in areas not under Syrian government control, mainly across the north with a small number in Rukban in the southeast, and 6.8 million of them need humanitarian assistance due to hostilities and widespread displacement.
More broadly, Guterres said, “after 11 years of conflict, the country still has the largest number of internally displaced people in the world, drives one of the world’s largest refugee crises, and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.” The already dire situation is compounded by cholera spreading across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic, a worsening economy and climate and other human-caused shocks, he said.
