Some 400,000 Medical Items Intended for Syria Stuck in Iraq - UN Humanitarian Chief

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) Some 400,000 medical items intended to be delivered in northern Syria remain stuck at the border with Iraq after the border crossing was closed earlier this month, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said on Tuesday.

"Some 400,000 medical items planned for delivery are stuck on trucks in Iraq and unable to cross," Lowcock told the Security Council. "The Secretary-General has asked members of this council for their support in getting agreement that these items can be brought in. As of today, they remain in Iraq."

On January 10, UN Security Council member states adopted a resolution - drafted by Germany and Belgium - that reauthorizes cross-border deliveries via two crossings in Turkey until July 10. A per the resolution, the other two of the four border crossings for humanitarian deliveries - Al Ramtha in Jordan and Al Yarubiyah in Iraq - have been closed.

Lowcock said no UN medical supplies convoy had departed Damascus to reach territories in northeast Syria in January.

Lawcock also said the closing of the border crossings have rendered humanitarian responders without the capacity to meet the needs of more than 2.8 million people in northwest Syria.

"We are receiving reports of tensions mounting because of the inadequate humanitarian response," Lowcock added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will deliver a report to the Security Council on the feasibility of using alternative modalities for the Al Yarubiyah border crossing to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people in need throughout Syria.