DAA comments on the UN Security Council’s decision to reduce the number of crossings used to enter aid into Syrian territory

NORTH SYRIA – On Saturday, the UN Security Council renewed its approval of the mechanism in which humanitarian aid is delivered to the Syrian territories, which is renewed annually, however this time the renewal decision stipulated relying on only two of the previously used border crossings and only extended the delivery of aid by six months.

The Turkish-Syrian border crossings, Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam, were the only crossings given approval. The al-Yaarubiyah crossing with Iraq and the Daara crossing with Jordan were excluded.

Luqman Ahmi, spokesperson for the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, commented on the UNSC’s decision in an interview with Hawar News Agency:

“Russian pressure and the use of the veto forced the Security Council to refrain from relying on the major designated crossings, and this is within the framework of a Russian-Turkish agreement, and it seems that the humanitarian situation no longer matters to some countries, as much as its interests in Syria matter.”

Regarding the impact of this decision on North and East Syria, Ahmi stated:

“I want to mention that during the past year, only thirty trucks of humanitarian aid entered the region, and that this number does not constitute anything compared to the numbers of refugees and internally displaced people in North and East Syria, and it will not have any logistical impact due to the absence of such aid and its scarcity.”

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“We have always hoped the United Nations and Western countries to increase their support of North and East Syria, and to increase the volume of humanitarian assistance.”

Ahmi concluded with the following:

“The interruption of the aid will not affect our people, refugees and displaced people. The Autonomous Administration will continue its humanitarian duty towards the region, but we would like everyone to assume their responsibilities towards the region, help the administration in providing service and assistance, and use the crossing to serve the Syrian people.”

It is worth noting that, in order to soften the wording of the resolution, Britain and the United States abstained from voting, along with Russia and China, while the rest of the council voted in favor of the resolution.