(CNSNews.com) – Three days after devastating earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, the first U.N. aid convoy was able to cross from Turkey into northwest Syria on Thursday through the only border crossing authorized for aid delivery by a U.N. Security Council bitterly divided over the Syrian civil war.
Six trucks laden with “shelter items and non-food item kits, including blankets and hygiene kits” reached the Bab al-Hawa crossing, according to the U.N. humanitarian affairs office.
Even before Monday’s earthquakes hit, the U.N. estimated that more than four million people in the rebel-held northwestern Syria were solely dependent on aid coming through that single crossing.
Now, the levels of need and urgency have grown dramatically.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, reported to be the region’s most powerful in a century, has killed more than 20,000 people in the two countries, a toll expected to climb further. More than 17,000 of the deaths have been reported in Turkey, with the remainder in Syria, in both rebel- and regime-held areas.
The push to get relief into northwest Syria has highlighted the consequences of the refusal of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, buttressed by its Russian ally in the Security Council, to allow more than a single border crossing point for aid.
Damaged roads leading to the crossing had prevented trucks reaching it up to now, but because it’s the only Security Council-authorized crossing point, the U.N. did not seek alternative routes. (Some non-U.N. relief agencies are taking in aid through other crossings.)
Highlighting the impediment, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, “We call on the Assad regime to immediately allow aid in through all border crossings, allow the distribution of aid to all affected areas, and to let humanitarians access all people in Syria who are in need, without exception.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the aid had been held up by “logistical difficulties in recent days, owing to the fact that there had been only one U.N.-authorized cross-border transit point that, by the way, had been blocked” as a result of earthquake damage.
The dispute arises from the lengthy civil war which has seen Russia prop up the Assad regime through military intervention and diplomatic backing at the U.N.
Assad, with Russia’s backing, has long demanded that humanitarian assistance for all of Syria be coordinated with Damascus, calling the entry of aid from outside going directly into rebel-held areas a violation of Syrian sovereignty. Critics say his real motivation is to use aid delivery as a means of reasserting control.
In 2020, Russia (joined by China) vetoed a resolution providing for two crossings on the Syria-Turkey border to remain open for humanitarian aid.
In a further setback, Russia last July vetoed another measure that would have reauthorized the Bab al-Hawa crossing for a 12-month period. As a result, the council must now reauthorize the mandate every six months, to the chagrin of the U.S. and others.
“We want to see additional humanitarian crossings,” Price said. “We are going to continue to do everything we can to see to it that there are additional humanitarian access points.”
“Unfortunately, the reality has been – up until now, at least – that one country primarily has stood in the way of that,” Price said. “The Russians have consistently threatened or used their veto when it comes to expanding border crossings.”
“We’re going to continue to make the case, countries around the world are going to continue to make the case, and we certainly hope that Russia and all those who would stand in the way are hearing and seeing these just heartbreaking images from Syria today.”
At a press availability in New York, U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres was asked if he thought more border crossings should be opened.
“This is the moment of unity, not to politicize or to divide, but it is obvious that we need massive support,” he said. “And so I would be of course very happy if the Security Council could reach a consensus to allow for more crossings to be used.”
At a daily briefing, Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. can only use a second crossing if the Security Council authorizes it. The secretariat would start consultations with council members, “to see if we can move in that direction.”
“It’s very important that our aim is to deliver more humanitarian aid,” Dujarric said. “Our aim is not to politicize even more an already very politicized issue in an area that is extremely delicate politically.”
Sanctions denials
Meanwhile the Syrian regime and lawmakers in Damascus are calling for an end to U.S. and European sanctions, imposed in 2011 in response to the regime’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests that spiraled into the civil war.
The U.S. and E.U. reject claims that the sanctions are impacting humanitarian efforts.
“There are many hurdles to overcome when providing humanitarian assistance in Syria and especially after devastating earthquakes this week, but our Syrian sanctions policy is not among them,” said Price.
“Our sanctions do not target humanitarian aid,” he said. “Our sanctions have longstanding authorizations, longstanding carveouts, to see to it that humanitarian aid is allowed to go into Syria.”
The E.U. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, “categorically” rejected accusations that E.U. sanctions have any impact on humanitarian aid.
“They target the regime and its supporters and certain sectors of the economy from which the regime has been making a profit,” he told reporters.
Lenarcic said the measures target 291 individuals and 70 entities involved in violent repression of civilians, and include sectoral sanctions designed “to avoid any potentially negative effects on the Syrian people.”
“There is nothing there that would hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid and emergency assistance.”
Aid has been arriving in Damascus from Russia, Assad’s other key ally Iran, and several Arab states.