Calls ramp up to extend aid transfer mechanism to Syria

By Mohamed Misto

ISTANBUL (AA) - A UN mandate for aid transfer to Syria via the Bab Al-Hawa crossing on the border with Türkiye is about to expire soon and the failure of extension raises fears of imminent humanitarian disaster.

The long-running aid operation that allows the use of the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Türkiye border has been in place since 2014 and the most recent six-month authorization expires Jan. 10.

The UN Security Council renewed the aid mechanism on July 12, 2022 for a period of six months only amid Russia's pressure.

Türkiye, the US, and European countries made calls in December to urge Russia to agree to extend the aid transfer mechanism to Syria.

Aid delivery from across the Turkish border into Syria, including early recovery and livelihood support to strengthen communities, reached an average of 2.7 million people monthly, according to the UN.

Around 15.3 million people will require humanitarian protection and assistance this year, the highest since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, the UN said.

Russia's refrainment so far to express its agreement to extend the aid mechanism, with the current mandate approaching the end, prompted some countries in the UN Security Council to propose a new mechanism for aid through an intermediary company, but the proposal was rejected by some organizations operating inside Syria.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Syria Response Coordinators, a local organization in northern Syria, criticized the proposed mechanism as it grants funding to a company with no experience in the humanitarian aid field instead of to international humanitarian organizations or UN bodies.

The new mechanism, according to the statement, will also result in "many cases of corruption and direct exploitation of humanitarian operations in the region, and the new mechanism will not be an adequate substitute for cross-border humanitarian aid."

For years, the Assad regime has sought to get rid of the aid mechanism with the help of Russia, which would prevent access to northwestern Syria that is controlled by the rebels.

The aid delivery was reduced to one border crossing from four during the years when Russia and China vetoed UN resolutions seeking to preserve the cross-border aid lifeline to northwestern Syria.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara.