Syria extends UN aid from Turkey, US quake waiver expires

Trucks carrying aid from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), following a deadly earthquake, are parked at Bab al-Hawa crossing, Syria, February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON/BEIRUT, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Syria has extended permission for the United Nations to deliver aid via two Turkish border crossings for three months, while a U.S. exemption expired on Tuesday that allowed some transactions linked to humanitarian assistance after a deadly earthquake.

After the earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria in February, Damascus initially allowed the U.N. to dispatch aid to opposition-held areas of the country using the two border crossings from Turkey for three months. That was renewed in May and has now been extended until Nov. 13.

“We greatly welcome the extension of permission by the Government of Syria to utilize the Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee border crossings until November 13th,” said U.N. aid spokesperson Eri Kaneko.

Syria’s mission to the United Nations in New York confirmed the extension.

Following the earthquake, the United States and the European Union issued sanctions waivers to pave the way for more aid into Syria. While humanitarian assistance is exempt from sanctions, the waivers aimed to combat the chilling effect of the measures that made some banks and companies wary of dealing with Syria.

The EU has extended its waiver until Feb. 24, but the broad U.S. authorization – known as a license – expired on Tuesday.

It “was a time-limited authorization intended to reinforce existing humanitarian authorizations for disaster relief and ensure that affected Syrians had access to emergency assistance after the earthquake,” said a U.S. Treasury spokesperson.

U.S. authorizations facilitating the work of aid groups and the United Nations remain in effect, the spokesperson said.

The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Syria advocacy manager, Emma Forster, warned the expiration of the broad U.S. measure “will mean an increase in overcompliance and de-risking that hinders the speed and efficiency of the humanitarian response in Syria.”

‘READY TO RESUME OPERATIONS’

The United Nations had also been using the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey to deliver aid to millions in northwest Syria since 2014 with authorization from the U.N. Security Council. But that expired in mid-July after the 15-member body could not reach an agreement to extend it.

Just days later the Syrian government said the U.N. could continue using the Bab al-Hawa crossing for another six months, but those aid deliveries are yet to resume because the U.N. has concerns with “two unacceptable conditions.”

“We’re still working to resolve those obstacles. We’re hopeful that we can do so and we do stand ready to resume operations, if those obstacles are overcome,” U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

The same conditions have not been imposed on the U.N. use of the Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee border crossings.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the scale of needs in Syria following more than a decade of conflict in addition to the earthquake “demand swift action and solutions to overcome barriers to humanitarian access.”

“It is essential every possible effort is made to support all avenues of assistance and make possible full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access to address the needs of people in northwest Syria,” said ICRC Syria spokeswoman Suhair Zakkout.

Syrians who fled President Bashar al-Assad’s rule fear he may soon be able to choke off badly needed aid as Damascus acts to establish sway over U.N. assistance into the rebel-held northwest, the last major bastion of the Syrian opposition.

A violent crackdown by Assad on peaceful pro-democracy protesters in 2011 led to a civil war, with Moscow backing Assad and Washington supporting the opposition. Millions of people fled Syria with millions more internally displaced. Fighting has since abated with Assad back in control of most of Syria.

Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Jonathan Oatis

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