愛污传媒

Skip to main content

UN to vote Monday on aid deliveries from Turkiye to northwest Syria -- either for 6 months or 1 year

A Syrian family sits in front of their tent at a refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Bilal Hussein/AP Photo) A Syrian family sits in front of their tent at a refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)
Share
UNITED NATIONS -

The UN Security Council is to vote Monday on extending aid deliveries from Turkiye to Syria's rebel-held northwest, with a resolution sponsored by Brazil and Switzerland calling for a 12-month extension and a rival Russia resolution limiting a renewal to just six months.

The delivery of aid to the area has increased significantly following the devastation caused by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that ravaged southern Turkiye and northwestern Syria on Feb. 8.

Syrian President Bashar Assad opened two additional crossing points from Turkiye to increase the flow of assistance to quake victims, and he extended their operation for three months in May until mid-August. But those crossings are not mentioned in either resolution.

The rival resolutions obtained Friday by The Associated Press virtually ensure that aid deliveries will continue through the main Bab al-Hawa crossing for at least six months.

Syria's northwestern province of Idlib is home to some four million people, many of whom have been forced from their homes during the 12-year civil war, which has killed nearly a half million people and displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million. Hundreds of thousands of people in Idlib live in tent settlements and rely on aid that comes through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

The earthquake caused more than 4,500 deaths in northwest Syria and about 855,000 had their homes damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.

U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on June 29 that the conflict in Syria has pushed 90 per cent of its people into poverty and that millions face cuts in food aid in July because of a funding shortfall.

He said the US$5.4 billion U.N. humanitarian appeal for Syria -- the world's largest -- is only 12 per cent funded, meaning that emergency food aid for millions of Syrians could be cut by 40 per cent this month. On Friday, he said the U.N. World Food Program needs US$200 million to avoid the food cuts.

The Security Council initially authorized aid deliveries in 2014 from Turkiye, Iraq and Jordan through four crossing points into opposition-held areas in Syria. But over the years, Syria's close ally Russia, backed by China, has reduced the authorized crossings to just Bab al-Hawa from Turkiye -- and the mandate from a year to six months. The current six-month term expires Monday.

Russia has pushed for more aid to be delivered across front lines within Syria, which would give the Syrian government control over the shipments. It has also pushed for early recovery projects to provide jobs and help the country's economy.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An organization that ranks the best universities across the globe says its latest report shows a concerning trend that several of Canada鈥檚 institutions are slipping down its list.

A British Columbia provincial court judge says a Boston Bar man who shot a teacup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal.

A man who showed up at a rental car company only to be told his online reservation would not be honoured is entitled to compensation, B.C.'s small claims tribunal has ruled.

Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.

On September 11, Madeleine Gervais was the victim of a theft in Ottawa's west end. It happened in the Loblaws parking lot in College Square, when she was approached by a man and a woman who insisted to help her load her groceries into her car.

Local Spotlight

Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

Saskatchewan鈥檚 Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.