Trucks loaded with United Nations humanitarian aid for Syria following a devastating earthquake are parked at Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Türkiye, in Syria's Idlib province, on Feb 10, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday welcomed the reopening of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing for aid delivery into northwest Syria.

The UN Security Council in July failed to reauthorize the cross-border humanitarian aid delivery mechanism through Bab al-Hawa on the Turkish border. The Syrian government had since offered to grant permission for aid delivery through the border crossing. The United Nations was in talks with Damascus over the details of the permission.

The consent reaffirmed by Syria in recent days provides a basis for the UN and its partners to lawfully conduct cross-border humanitarian operations through Bab al-Hawa.

Farhan Haq, Deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General

"The secretary-general welcomes the understanding reached yesterday (Monday) by the United Nations and the government of Syria on the continued use for the next six months of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to millions of people in need in Northwest Syria," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Guterres, in a statement.

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The agreement was a result of engagement between UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and the Syrian government for the world body and its partners to continue providing cross-border humanitarian assistance "at the necessary scale and in a principled manner that allows engagement with all parties for the purposes of seeking humanitarian access and that safeguards the UN's operational independence," said the statement.

"The consent reaffirmed by Syria in recent days provides a basis for the UN and its partners to lawfully conduct cross-border humanitarian operations through Bab al-Hawa," it said.

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The secretary-general also welcomed Syria's extension of its authorization for the United Nations to use the Bab al-Salam and al-Ra'ee border crossings for an additional three months, said Haq.

The two crossings, also on the Turkish border, were opened for an initial period of three months in the aftermath of the February earthquakes that struck Syria and Türkiye. The authorization has been renewed several times.

Guterres also welcomed the Syrian government's consent to cross the lines within Syria at Sarmada and Saraqib for the delivery of assistance for the next six months, said the statement.