Russia and China have blocked another move in the UN Security Council to continue aid delivery to Syria via two border crossings to Turkey. They vetoed a vote shortly before the deadline yesterday.
Subsequently, a Russian proposal was voted for, according to which the deliveries were to take place for one year via only one Turkish border crossing. The application also failed. According to diplomats, work should continue to find a compromise among the members of the UN Security Council.
Disputes are the duration of deliveries and the number of border crossings. Russia and China only want to allow one transition instead of two. China and the leadership in Moscow, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, argue that aid deliveries are now possible from Syria itself. According to the UN, millions of Syrian civilians in the northwest of their country are dependent on the relief supplies delivered from Turkey.
Hospitals restrict aid
After the first coronavirus case in the rebel-controlled region of Idlib in Syria became known, numerous hospitals reduced their work. The hospital in Bab al-Haua, where a doctor had tested positive for the virus, was completely closed, said Mazen Kewara of the Syrian American Medical Association (SAMS) of the dpa. Other hospitals only accept emergencies. In the meantime, two other doctors have tested positive for the virus.
According to the UN, more than four million people live in the rebel province of Idlib, most of whom are refugees. Aid organizations warn of an uncontrolled outbreak of the corona virus in the province in the northwest of the civil war. The region is dependent on aid deliveries that have now been blocked again.
