Major powers exploit Syria’s Bab al-Hawa to fulfill political objectives
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Bab al-Hawa border crossing is a mean to put presser in turn for achieving political objectives rather than meeting needs of those in need of the UN humanitarian aid throughout Syria, said Saleh Muslim, co-chair of Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, Wednesday.
Muslim’s statement came a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to the members of the Security Council to maintain consensus on allowing cross-border operations, by renewing resolution 2585 for an additional 12 months.
“It is a moral imperative to address the suffering and vulnerability of 4.1 million people in the area who need aid and protection,” he said.
The PYD co-chair further explained that the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, 33 kilometers from the city of Idlib, is a mean through which Turkey “supports its affiliated armed Syrian opposition factions, so that this issue draws intention of Russia and Turkey.”
The PYD is a Kurdish political party established on Sept. 20 2003 in northern Syria. It operates in Kurdish-majority areas in Syria, and Turkey claims it to be Syria’s branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“Discussion over cross-border humanitarian aid is not new, and all parties make it a bargaining chip and a mean to fulfill political objectives,” he added.
He noted that the only border crossing that serves the Syrian people “away from the political purposes” is al-Ya’rubiyah/Tel Kocher border crossing with Iraq.
The UN, through al-Ya’rubiyah border crossing can deliver its services wherever it wants away from the Syrian government’s “exploitation”, according to Muslim.
In July 2020, the al-Ya’rubiyah border crossing, which is the only point of the areas of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), was closed to UN humanitarian access due to the Russian-Chinese veto, which exacerbated the challenges facing the region, according to civil organizations.
Despite calls by organizations and member states of the UN for re-authorization, the repeated Russian-Chinese veto led to rejection or amendment of the proposal, sometimes even before voting.
The closure of the crossing deprived residents of Syria’s northeast of aid estimated at $26.8 million, due to the cessation of support for many organizations operating in the region.
Muslim believes that Russia is trying to make the Syrian government “the upper hand to have power over the Syrian people’s fate.”