UN says Syria agrees to open 2 new crossings for quake aid

The United Nations says Syria’s president has agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country’s rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment fon millions of earthquake victims

Syria Turkey Earthquake Aid (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Syria's president has agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country's rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment fon millions of earthquake victims, the United Nations announced Monday.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision by Syrian leader Bashar Assad to open crossing points at Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée for an initial period of three months.

Currently, the U.N. has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa.

Guterres said in a statement the toll from the quake “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," the U.N. chief said.

The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus between Assad and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. It came during a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which was briefed by Griffiths.