The Syrian Interim Government announced its approval of the entry of an aid convoy from northeastern Syria under the control of the Autonomous Administration as part of individual tribal initiatives.
In a statement on Sunday, the Interim Government said that it “will respond to the call of the people and tribes in the eastern regions of Syria and receive aid trucks provided by them.”
In other news, the Autonomous Administration allowed the opening of all crossings for humanitarian aid convoys to all affected Syrian areas.
The statement declared that the crossings would be open to all Syrian regions for civil society initiatives in their respective areas. All necessary facilities would be provided to them until their exit from the crossings.
Over the past few days, news has spread about the refusal of the interim government to enter fuel and aid trucks from SDF areas to northwestern Syria due to the conditions it set.
According to a source who spoke to the Lebanese website Al-Modon, the SDF has conditioned the entry of aid into northern Syria on the requirement that it be brought in under the supervision of the United States. The source also indicated that the SDF insisted that the aid must come from the Autonomous Administration.
In turn, the Assad regime continues to exploit the earthquake that struck the region by promoting the preparation of an aid convoy and its entry through its Syrian Red Crescent, but HTS has refused.
The semi-official Al-Watan newspaper said that “the United Nations office in Damascus completely cancelled the entry of aid provided by the Syrian Red Crescent to the afflicted people in Idleb through the Saraqeb crossing.”
Reuters also quoted a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as saying that Tahrir al-Sham had refused entry to the convoy.
The spokesman said the stalled transfer of aid from regime areas was “caused by problems in obtaining Tahrir al-Sham’s approval.”
Mohammed al-Sadiq, the director of HTS’ media relations office, refuted the claim that “the people in the region view the regime as a means of salvation, despite its abandonment and killing of them.”
“Has the response to the afflicted people in the areas occupied by the regime been completed so that it wants to help Idleb? ” Sadiq wondered.
In recent days, the Assad regime has tried to exploit the earthquake to demand the lifting of sanctions imposed on it by countries in order to allow aid to reach the areas under its control.
His Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, also conditioned the passage of humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria through regime-controlled areas, which was later confirmed by Assad’s special adviser, Buthaina Shaaban.
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.
