UN says Syria's Assad agrees to open 2 new crossings for aid

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The UN announced Monday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to open two new crossing points from Türkiye to Syria to allow humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

"I welcome the decision today by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to open the two crossing points of Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ee from Türkiye to north-west Syria for an initial period of three months to allow for the timely delivery of humanitarian aid," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

The UN chief said that as the toll of the Feb. 6 earthquake "continues to mount, delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is of the utmost urgency."

"Opening these crossing points -- along with facilitating humanitarian access, accelerating visa approvals and easing travel between hubs -- will allow more aid to go in, faster," he said.

For years, the UN has sent humanitarian aid to Syria through just one border crossing, Cilvegozu, in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, but it was damaged in the massive earthquakes last Monday.

At least 31,643 people were killed and over 80,000 others injured after the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern Türkiye within the space of less than 10 hours on Feb. 6, affecting around 13 million people, according to the latest official figures.

The earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras, also hit nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors.

In neighboring Syria, the death toll has climbed above 3,500, with more than 5,200 people injured.