UNITED STATES NEWS

UN: Staggering 15.3 million Syrians, nearly 70% of population, need aid

May 30, 2023, 12:00 PM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — For the first time in Syria’s 12-year war, people in every district are experiencing some degree of “humanitarian stress,” and a staggering 15.3 million — nearly 70% of the population — need humanitarian aid, the United Nations said Tuesday.

A U.N. appeal for $5.4 billion to help over 14 million people in Syria is less than 10% funded and the U.N. World Food Program has warned that without additional money, 2.5 million people are at risk of losing food or cash assistance from July.

The dire humanitarian situation, compounded by the February earthquake that devastated the rebel-held northwest, was spelled out to the Security Council by the U.N. humanitarian office’s operations director Edem Wosornu.

The Syrian people “are more and more reliant on humanitarian assistance as basic services and critical infrastructure are on the brink of collapse,” she said.

Wosornu urged generous pledges and the swift release of funds at a European Union hosted conference in Brussels on June 14-15. She said “Syrians need the support of the international community now more than at any time in the past 12 years.”

She said the need to maintain the delivery of humanitarian aid to the northwest is even more critical after the earthquake. She said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a 12-month extension of the U.N. mandate, which expires in July, saying the assistance is “indispensable” and “a matter of life and death for millions of people” in the region.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country is a close ally of Syria, said Moscow shares concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation. But he said cross-border aid delivery “has outlived its usefulness” and “we see no reason at all to extend it.”

Nebenzia expressed concern that while cross-border aid was flowing and funded, the appeal to help millions of others in acute need in Syria is only 9% funded. It’s “a very odd moral imperative,” if aid “only applies to the terrorists in Idlib and it does not apply to the country as a whole.”

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States will seek a council resolution to extend aid deliveries through the three border crossings currently operating: Bab Al-Hawa, which was the single crossing Russia would allow to remain open in January, as well as Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée, which Syria’s President Bashar Assad agreed to open after the quake, which killed over 6,000 in Syria and has displaced over 330,000. Assad has agreed to keep the two additional crossings open through Aug. 13.

The U.S. envoy accused Assad of “cynically” trying “to seize on the outpouring of international support following the earthquakes to reclaim its place on the world stage,” stressing that “merely sitting at the same table as other regional leaders does nothing to help the people of Syria.”

“If the Assad regime wants to help the Syrian people, it should act immediately and announce that it will keep the Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée crossings open through at least August 2024, or as long as it takes,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “And even if the Assad regime does the right thing, it is frankly no substitute for actions by this council, which has a responsibility to respond to the dire humanitarian needs of the Syrian people.”

Assad was welcomed back to the Arab League this month after a 12-year suspension. Geir Pedersen, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, told the Security Council that this meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia along with others in Moscow and Amman that included Syrian officials could create new momentum in long-stalled efforts to end the conflict.

He reiterated that new diplomatic activity “could act as a circuit breaker in the search for a political solution in Syria – if there is constructive Syria engagement, and indeed if key regional and international groups and players can work together.”

United States News

FILE - Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., speaks with reporters as he departs after a Republican caucus ...

Associated Press

North Carolina Rep. McHenry, who led House through speaker stalemate, won’t seek reelection in 2024

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, who presided temporarily over the U.S. House for three intense weeks while Republicans struggled to elect a permanent speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, announced Tuesday that he won’t seek reelection to his seat next year. McHenry, who was first elected to the House in 2004 at […]

4 minutes ago

FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, in Washington. The Supreme Court...

Associated Press

Supreme Court throws out case that could have limited lawsuits over disability access

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a case surrounding a Maine hotel that could have made it harder for people with disabilities to learn in advance whether a hotel’s accommodations meet their needs. Hotels and other business interests had urged the justices to limit the ability of so-called testers to file lawsuits […]

2 hours ago

File - An employee works inside the Hanwha Qcells Solar plant on Oct. 16, 2023, in Dalton, Ga. On T...

Associated Press

US job openings fall to lowest level since March 2021 as labor market cools

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October, the fewest since March 2021, in a sign that hiring is cooling in the face of higher interest rates yet remains at a still-healthy pace. The Labor Department said Tuesday that openings were down significantly from 9.4 million in September. U.S. hiring is […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Cause sought of explosion that leveled an Arlington, Virginia, home as police tried to serve warrant

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Hours before a massive explosion destroyed a duplex and shook a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., a suspect inside his home fired a flare gun 30 to 40 times into the neighborhood, drawing a large police response, officials said Tuesday. All officers escaped serious injury but it was unclear what happened […]

5 hours ago

FILE - Math teacher Doug Walters sits among empty desks as he takes part in a video conference with...

Associated Press

Students around the world suffered huge learning setbacks during the pandemic, study finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Students around the world suffered historic setbacks in reading and math during the COVID-19 pandemic, with declines in test scores so widespread that the United States climbed in global rankings simply by falling behind less sharply, a new study finds. The state of global education was given a bleak appraisal in the […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Israel moves into Gaza’s second-largest city and intensifies strikes in bloody new phase of the war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that its troops had entered Gaza’s second-largest city as intensified bombardment sent streams of ambulances and cars racing to hospitals with wounded and dead Palestinians, including children, in a bloody new phase of the war. The military said its forces were “in the heart” of Khan […]

10 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

Follow @KTAR923...

West Hunsaker at Morris Hall supports Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona

KTAR's Community Spotlight this month focuses on Morris Hall and its commitment to supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona.

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

UN: Staggering 15.3 million Syrians, nearly 70% of population, need aid