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Al-Jazeera correspondent in Syria reported that the entry of United Nations aid from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey had stopped for the first time since 2014, after the UN Security Council failed to agree on extending the aid entry mechanism due to a Russian veto.
The “Syrian Response Coordinators” organization said that the cessation of the entry of UN aid will deprive more than one million displaced people of access to bread.
Yesterday, Sunday, 44 trucks entered the warehouses of international organizations in the northern countryside of Idlib.
In the same context, Anadolu Agency, based on diplomatic sources at the United Nations, said that the UN Security Council will hold an emergency consultation session on Monday on authorizing the mechanism for transferring aid to Syria through the crossing.
According to the same sources, the agency reported that some amendments were made to the joint Irish-Norwegian draft resolution to extend the UN mandate for a year, which Russia vetoed against its passage on Friday.
Those sources did not clarify the content of the amendments, adding that “it is not known whether these amendments will meet the Russian demands or not.”
Vital Aid
The previous mandate had expired on July 10, after the Security Council failed to approve its extension, on Friday, due to a Russian “veto,” as Russia stipulates that the resolution be passed for a period of only 6 months.
The United States, Britain and France said the 6-month extension was not enough time for aid groups to plan and operate efficiently.
The Security Council resolution requires the approval of at least 9 of its members, provided that none of the five permanent members, namely Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain, object to it.
Commenting on the issue, Washington’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, said, “We worked all weekend with members of the Security Council to find a compromise.”
“The United States is committed to providing assistance to the Syrians in Idlib, and we will continue to fight for the continuation of the cross-border mandate,” Greenfield added on Twitter.
Today, I spoke with humanitarian NGOs working to deliver cross-border aid inside Idlib. They told me about the millions of Syrians who will not eat if the @AND cross-border mechanism is not renewed. The UNSC decision will be a choice between life and death. All eyes are on NY.
– Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) July 10, 2022
Until Monday midnight, New York time, no official confirmation was issued by the Brazilian Permanent Mission to the United Nations regarding the convening of the Security Council’s emergency session on Syria, Monday.
The Brazilian delegation holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of July.
The majority of the council’s member states (15 countries), with the exception of Russia and China, stress the importance of continuing cross-border humanitarian aid from Turkey to Syria.
The Security Council’s vote on the relief operation has long been a contentious issue, but this year it also comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and Western countries over the war in Ukraine.
In 2014, the council authorized the delivery of humanitarian aid to opposition-held areas of Syria from Iraq, Jordan and two points in Turkey, but Russia and China, which have veto power, have reduced this to just one Turkish border point.
The importance of aid comes from being the only way to preserve the lives of more than 4.1 million people trapped in northwest Syria.
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