Aid, under control of al Asad
This aid will remain in the area controlled by the Damascus government and, in principle, will not be shared in the area controlled by the insurgents who unleashed a civil war in Syria that has lasted for almost twelve years.
The Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, assured on Monday that this aid would be “for all Syrians throughout the territory.” But he set a condition: that this assistance be distributed from within the country, under government control.
“The accesses from Syria exist, they can be coordinated with the government and we are willing to do so,” said the diplomat, rejecting the possibility of taking the aid through cross-border accesses.
The aid is crucial because “the situation of the population was already dramatic,” insists Professor Raphaël Pitti, a person in charge of the French organization Mehad, especially concerned about the province of Idlib.
One of the main problems is access to this last stronghold controlled by rebels and jihadists, where 4.8 million people live, he says.
The German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, demanded this Tuesday that humanitarian aid can reach all the victims of the earthquake in northern Syria, including opponents of the Damascus regime, and promised donations for the NGOs that are on the land, including a first million euros for Malteser International.
“All international actors, including Russia, should use their influence over the Syrian regime to get humanitarian aid to the victims,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
For Raphaël Pitti, the areas under the authority of Damascus will probably receive international aid. “As always has happened for 10 years,” he points out.
With information from AFP and EFE
