The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he is open to the idea of delivering aid to Syria via additional border crossings, other than the Bab al-Hawa crossing — the only humanitarian aid corridor approved by the United Nations between Turkey and rebel-held areas of northern Syria.
“I would be of course very happy if the Security Council could reach a consensus to allow for more crossings to be used, as we need also to increase our capacity to deliver on crossline operations into Idlib from Damascus,” Guterres said. “Many non-UN relief agencies are already delivering through other crossings.”
On Tuesday, the UN said the Bab al-Hawa crossing was “actually intact,” but the road leading to the crossing had been damaged by Monday’s earthquake, hampering relief efforts.
The first United Nations convoy, comprised of six trucks, crossed into Northern Syria via the Bab al-Hawa crossing on Thursday, according to Guterres. He said the “United Nations has done its best to race to respond,” adding that “more help is on the way, but much more, much more is needed.”
“The earthquake struck as the humanitarian crisis in northwest Syria was already worsening, with needs at their highest level since the conflict began,” Guterres said, describing the dire need to get urgent humanitarian aid into Syria. “We are sadly aware that we haven’t yet seen the full extent of the damage and of the humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes.”
Guterres said the UN would launch a Flash Appeal for donor support for Syria early next week. He added that it has already released $25 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Fund for Syria, and UN agencies and international and national NGOs are assessing their initial funding requirements over the next three months.
“These resources will be used by the humanitarian community for critical aid: shelter, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, education, protection and psychosocial support services,” Guterres explained.
Guterres also said that Martin Griffiths, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, is already in Turkey to assess areas affected by the earthquake. Griffiths will also visit Gaziantep, Aleppo, and Damascus to assess aid needs.
