UN: Assad to allow aid in to northern Syria for 3 more months

The United Nations said yesterday that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad will keep the Bab Al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee border crossings with Turkiye open for an additional three months in order to allow humanitarian aid to enter northern Syria.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said on Twitter: “For the last 3 months, Al Ra’ee and Bab Al-Salam crossings have been a vital lifeline to help Syrians affected by the February 6 earthquakes.”

“The Government of #Syria’s decision to keep them open to UN aid for another 3 months is welcome.”

For the last 3 months, the Al Ra'ee and Bab Al-Salam crossings have been a vital lifeline to help Syrians affected by the February 6 earthquakes.

The Government of #Syria’s decision to keep them open to UN aid for another 3 months is welcome.

— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) May 13, 2023

The United Nations had previously asked the Assad government to allow the entry of aid to areas affected by the earthquake in northwestern Syria through two additional crossings through Turkiye.

The United Nations was late in responding to the victims of the earthquake that struck northern Syria on 6 February because the Assad regime had not agreed to the entry of aid.

A week after the earthquake, the United Nations announced that the Syrian regime had agreed to open the Bab Al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee crossings in the suburbs of Aleppo for three months, starting 13 February.

READ: UN asks Syria to extend deadline for post-quake aid access