Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from the News Desk at the Cradle, June 24, 2023
Damascus has long insisted that UN deliveries be coordinated by the government, as the extremists in control of Idlib often seize the aid and resell it at higher prices
On 23 June, ten trucks carrying UN humanitarian aid crossed from a government-controlled area in Syria’s Aleppo governorate and entered Idlib, controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremist group — formerly known as the Nusra Front.
Friday’s delivery marked the first time a UN aid truck was allowed to enter Idlib since a devastating earthquake ravaged Syria’s northwest in February, according to the UN office for humanitarian affairs or OCHA.
The 11th cross-line convoy is underway, carrying UN humanitarian supplies from Aleppo to north-west #Syria. This is in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2672 which calls for both cross-line and cross-border #humanitarian assistance. pic.twitter.com/KRdaLQZZ1q
— OCHA Syria (@OCHA_Syria) June 23, 2023
The last aid shipment to cross the front lines in the conflict was in early January.
Aid deliveries to the HTS-controlled region, where around three million Syrians live, became a political battleground following the earthquake, as Western powers urged Damascus to allow unchecked deliveries to reach the militants of the former Al-Qaeda branch.
But while the Syrian government insisted all aid deliveries needed to be coordinated by Damascus, it still allowed for the opening of two extra crossing points in northern Syria from Turkiye.
In the days following the earthquake, Damascus also approved the distribution of aid across extremist-held areas of north and northwest Syria under the joint supervision and coordination of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).
Western backers of the Syrian war have long pursued a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution to provide aid in northern Syria through the Turkish-Syrian border without authorization from the government in Damascus – a contravention of international regulations.
However, Russia repeatedly vetoes this resolution, stressing that the program already in place has been abused by the extremist groups in control of northwest Syria.
“[The UN mechanism] has long since exhausted its capabilities and is being used for other purposes, far from addressing the humanitarian situation,” Moscow’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, said on 27 April.
“[Russia cannot] turn a blind eye to the fact that terrorists from HTS usurp authority and manipulate humanitarian assistance,” Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, said in May 2022.
HTS has for years been taking advantage of the UN mechanism to seize humanitarian aid for themselves, at times to sell for higher prices. Northern border crossings associated with the aid program have even been subject to drug smuggling by armed groups.
The US-backed group has also kidnapped aid workers to demand large ransoms – worsening an already volatile humanitarian situation.
Furthermore, the UN aid program also excludes the majority of Syria’s population, who reside in government-held territory, where an economy ravaged by sanctions has created significant humanitarian concerns.
Just last week, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced it would cut food aid to Syria by 50 percent due to a lack of funding.
Ignoring this reality, the US has been promoting talks between officials from HTS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a US proxy militia in control of northeast Syria.
HTS previously enjoyed strong support from Turkiye and the US, most notably when a coalition led by HTS conquered the Idlib governate in 2015 with US and Turkish-supplied weapons, including TOW anti-tank missiles.
According to Arabic media reports, Qatar and the US have also been promoting efforts to rehabilitate the image of HTS leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani.
