U.N. expands humanitarian aid for northwestern Syria

IDLIB, Syria – The devastation, shelling, and displacement of civilians in the northwestern regions of Syria have led to a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. As a result, the United Nations has put forward a plan to provide more aid to those areas.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sir Mark Lowcock, has submitted a $ 500 million plan to the U.N Security Council (UNSC) to finance the provision of humanitarian aid to people in northwestern Syria.

“Humanitarian operations are still ongoing, but the current amount of aid is not enough,” said Lowcock at a meeting of the UNSC on Wednesday. “I have informed the U.N Security Council about the need to provide $ 36 million to assist the displaced people for the next 6 months. However, it is now obvious that this amount is not sufficient in the next few days. We will present a revised $ 500 million plan to finance aid for about 1,100,000 people.”

Lowcock mentioned that the possibilities of expanding humanitarian aid in northwestern Syria are still under study. “We are discussing with Turkey the possibility of opening the border crossings at the border daily.”

He also pointed out that his office managed to get the Syrian government permission to evaluate the situation in areas under the control of the Syrian Arab Army.