AMMAN — The
Syrian government has extended permission for
the UN to deliver aid to opposition-controlled areas via two
Turkish border crossings for a further three months, as it continues to attempt to establish
control over badly needed UN assistance. They confirmed the extension in the
Syrian mission to the UN in New York.
اضافة اعلان
Damascus has been allowing the UN to dispatch aid to the
opposition-held northwest using the two border crossings from Turkey for three
months. In July, the government’s ally, Russia, blocked
UN authorization to
extend the use of a separate crossing – a lifeline for those living in the
region – for nine months without the permission of the Syrian government,
Al-Jazeera News reported.
Earthquake relief
The move comes as a
United States exemption that allowed
some transactions linked to humanitarian assistance into the country expired.
The exemption was introduced after earthquakes killed more than 50,000 people
in Turkey and Syria in February.
Following the earthquakes, the US 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 February 24, but the
broad US authorization – known as a license – expired on Tuesday.
US authorizations facilitating the work of aid groups and
the UN remain in effect, the spokesperson said.
Opposition’s fears
In July, the
Syrian government said that the use of Bab
al-Hawa for UN aid depended on “full cooperation and coordination with the
government”, and the UN not communicating with “terrorist organizations” – a
term often used by Damascus to refer to most groups opposed to the rule of
President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrians who fled al-Assad’s rule fear he may soon be able to
choke off badly needed aid as Damascus acts to establish sway over UN
assistance into the rebel-held northwest, the last major bastion of the Syrian
opposition.
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