Syria extends aid access to militant-controlled areas via Turkey: UN
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Damascus approves keeping two border crossings with Turkey open for humanitarian aid to be delivered to quake-struck regions north of the country.
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The Syrian flag flutters above Damascus on September 20, 2012 (AFP)
Syria has extended permission for humanitarian aid access from Turkey through shared border crossings into militant-controlled territories that Damascus originally agreed to reopen for humane reasons following the devastating February earthquake, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The three-month extension is the second of its nature to be approved by the country, the first being last May, which grants UN personnel freedom of passage through Bab Al-Salam and Al-Rai crossings.
Read more: HTS holding Syria aid over 'approval issues': UN Spokesperson
"We greatly welcome the extension of permission by the Government of Syria to utilize the Bab al-Salam and Al Rai border crossings until November 13," said Eri Kaneko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A devastating earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck large areas in southern Turkey and northern Syria, at dawn on Monday, February 6, which resulted in the death of more than 50,000 people in the two countries, while the aftershocks of the earthquake reached other countries in the region.
The Syrian government has repeatedly revealed that the terrorist groups are monopolizing the humanitarian aid reaching northern Syria through Turkish territories within the framework of the cross-border delivery mechanism.
Read more: Exclusive: Syrian government sending aid to armed-groups-held areas
