PBB: Assistance Mechanism At The Syrian Border Needs To Be Updated

Illustration- (Photo: DOC Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) warned that millions of people in Syria would suffer if the Security Council failed to extend a resolution allowing humanitarian aid to be sent to the northwestern part of the rebel-held country. Long-term aid operations using the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the border with Turkey have been carried out since 2014, and the authorization for the past six months will expire on January 10. ''What happened is that millions of people will suffer. That's what will happen,'' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Anadolu quoted via Antara, Wednesday, January 4. Therefore, Dujarric emphasized the need to extend the mechanism for sending cross-border humanitarian aid in Syria. Delivery of aid from across the Turkish border to Syria reaches an average of 2.7 million people every month, including initial recovery and livelihood support to strengthen the community, the United Nations said. According to the United Nations, about 15.3 million people will need humanitarian protection and assistance by 2023, the highest number since the start of the conflict in 2011. The head of the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Office, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children's Funds, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Refugee Agency. In a joint statement, they said if the Security Council fails to extend the 2642 resolution, then the consequences would be catastrophic for 4.1 million people in areas not controlled by the government. “ At the height of winter and amid a seriousmensity outbreak, women and children are the majority of people who need help just to survive, the UN heads said. The United Nations reported 62,000 suspected defamation cases, including 100 deaths from the disease last December. For years, the Assad regime has been trying to get rid of aid mechanisms with the help of Russia, which will prevent access to the rebel-held northwest of Syria. Relief deliveries were reduced from four to one border crossing after Russia and China vetoed UN resolutions seeking to maintain cross-border relief lines to northwestern Syria.