UN says parties to Syrian conflict prevented access to areas affected by earthquake
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Loading... - Marilyn Zarate
- 13 Mar 2023
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'More important than ever' that sides consent to ‘impartial humanitarian relief being delivered unimpeded,’ says commissioner
Parties to the Syrian conflict prevented access to areas affected by the earthquake, the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry said on Monday.
In the months leading up to the region's most devastating earthquakes in more than a century, parties to the conflict in Syria "widely violated and abused human rights," continuing a 10-year pattern of disregard for the safety of Syrian citizens, the commission said in a briefing in Geneva where they launched their latest report on the country’s crisis.
"In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, it took the Syrian Government a full week to consent to life-saving cross-border aid access," the commission of three stressed.
The Syrian regime and opposition "both impeded cross-line aid to affected communities, while Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in northwest Syria refused cross-line aid from Damascus," according to the commission.
"Though there were many acts of heroism amid the suffering, we also witnessed a wholesale failure by the government and the international community, including the United Nations, to rapidly direct life-saving support to Syrians in the most dire need," said Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the commission. Read More..
