UN completes 200 cross-border aid missions in NW Syria since Feb.6 quake
Qamishli, Syria (North Press) – The United Nations announced on Tuesday it conducted 200 cross-border missions to deliver aid into northwest Syria following the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake.
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, during his daily briefing in New York, that the mission was carried out through the Bab al-Salama border crossing on Aug. 27.
“Today, 17 trucks carrying humanitarian shelter items from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) crossed into the northwest via Bab al-Salam,” he said.
He added that World Health Organization (WHO) personnel conducted monitoring visits to health facilities and WHO warehouses in Afrin and Azaz in northwest Syria under the control of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA).
The UN announced in early August it reached an agreement with the Syrian government to reopen Bab al-Hawa border crossing to allow aid to enter into northwest Syria for the next six months.
The Syrian government also allowed the UN to bring humanitarian aid from Turkey via two border crossings, Bab al-Salameh and al-Rai, to areas under the control of SNA, in northwest Syria for three months.