On Thursday morning (August 4th), a World Food Programme (WFP) relief convoy entered Syrian opposition-controlled areas in northwestern Syria from areas under the Assad regime’s control. This was the sixth convoy of this kind since the first such entry occurred last year.
According to WFP officials on social media, 14 WFP trucks are now transporting food rations, wheat flour, and food supplements from Aleppo to WFP warehouses in Sarmada, Idleb.
The officials said these operations complement cross-border assistance, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2642 (July 12th, 2022).
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The officials said that WFP is committed to providing food assistance to 1.4 million people in northwestern Syria, who rely mainly on life-saving assistance.
This convoy is the sixth of its kind to enter liberated areas in northwestern Syria from areas controlled by the Syrian regime. On August 30th and 31st, 2021, the first convoy of humanitarian assistance from WFP entered through the Miznaz crossing in the eastern countryside of Idleb, which is under the control of regime forces. The truck travelled into opposition areas in northwestern Syria, comprising 15 trucks transporting a total of 12,000 food rations.
The entry of these convoys was met with widespread protests by activists and residents in the Idleb governorate. They denounced the convoy’s entry under the auspices of regime forces, who destroyed their homes and killed their children, creating the main reason for their displacement from their cities and towns.
On July 28th, the first UN aid convoy entered Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey after the UN Security Council extended the mandate for cross-border aid entry by another six months.
On July 12th, the UN Security Council approved an extension of the mechanism for delivering UN aid to Syria through Turkey for an additional six months, following the consensus of member states. The only exception was France, which abstained, describing the resolution a “fragile decision.”
The UN mechanism in Syria has been in force since 2014 and allows humanitarian aid to enter through the Bab al-Hawa crossing.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
