US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called for “unhindered” cross-border access to get humanitarian aid into Syria, calling it “more important than ever”, Anadolu Agency reported.
Chairing a meeting of the UN Security Council, Blinken said that it is “clear” that the needs of Syrians are not going to be met by the Assad regime.
“We must ensure Syrians get the aid they need,” he said, adding: “The most efficient method is through border crossings … There is no good reason [why] crossings remain closed today.”
The top US diplomat demanded reauthorisation of the closed borders of al-Yaroubiya (bordering Iraq) and Bab al-Salam (bordering Turkey) while keeping open Bab al-Hawa (bordering Turkey), currently the only UN-authorised humanitarian border crossing in Syria.
Turning to the March 21 regime attack on al-Atareb hospital, in Aleppo, northwestern Syria, which killed six patients and injured five staffers, Blinken said: “The coordinates had been shared with the UN, meaning the regime knew exactly where it was.”
That day an additional Russian airstrike on the al-Bab border crossing with Turkey killed one civilian and injured two others.