Aid Challenges in Syria’s Northeast ‘Being Corrected’ – UN
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – In a press meeting on Monday, Geir Pedersen, the UN Envoy for Syria, said hurdles for aid to be delivered to Syria’s opposition-held northwest were “being corrected”.
The comments were made after a meeting between the UN envoy and Faisal Mekdad, Syria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, in Damascus.
“I was pleased to hear reassurances from the Syrian government that they will support us in the work that we are doing all over Syria,” Pedersen said.
“Of course, as you all know there has been a particular challenge immediately after the earthquake struck to get support into the northwest,” he added, referring to the UN’s failure to receive approval to deliver aid to the earthquake-afflicted Idlib region, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – formerly al-Nusra Front).
A UN spokesperson said yesterday there were “approval issues” with a hardline opposition group in the northwest. Reports suggest it was with HTS. “We won’t allow the regime to take advantage of the situation to show they are helping,” an unnamed HTS source had told Reuters.
“We think that is now being corrected, but of course it can’t really fix all the troubles we had at the very beginning,” Pederson said today. “But now support is coming in.”
The remarks do not specify whether an aid delivery mechanism for Syria’s northwest is already in place or is still being worked on, or whether aid will arrive from Syrian government-held areas or through Turkey.
Over 33.000 people were killed in Syria and Turkey by the earthquake of Feb. 6. Around 3.500 of those victims were killed in Syria, most in the Idlib region. Survivors have struggled to find shelter amid freezing temperatures, fuel shortages, and a lack of aid. Hundreds of buildings collapsed or have been damaged as a result of the quake, leaving many thousands of people homeless.
HTS-controlled Idlib is among the worst-hit regions. Lack of earth-moving equipment and a shortage of fuel have severely hampered rescue efforts.