Damascus has renewed a permit that allows UN aid to be transported from Turkey to areas in the country's north-west held by forces opposing President Bashar Al Assad.
Millions of people live in rebel-held areas of north-western Syria and rely on aid to survive after the economy was devastated by the civil war.
But the move to allow UN aid into these areas will have limited effect, as Turkey has replaced the United Nations as the main humanitarian provider in the region, a UN humanitarian official and a member of an NGO working in Syria told The National.
The extension was announced by Syria's UN ambassador Koussay Aldahhak after his government relayed it to the UN on Saturday.
"The Syrian government has decided to renew the permission" for three months, he said on X, previously Twitter.
UN aid deliveries can continue through the Bab Al Salam and Al Raee crossings, Mr Aldahhak said.
The crossings are near the Turkish cities of Killis and Gaziantep. The Syrian side of the border is controlled by the Syrian National Army, a Turkish proxy.
The SNA gained control of parts of the north of Aleppo province near the border after Turkey launched an offensive to dislodge Kurdish fighters in 2016, before expanding its control with Turkish support to the neighbouring Afrin area of the province in 2018.
Turkey has since consolidated its control and influence over the area through building schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, including an industrial zone. The Turkish government wants Syrian refugees on its side of the border to return to their homeland and has been pressuring them to move to SNA-controlled areas.
Some of the aid that comes through the Turkish border crossings will be transported by UN-approved local organisations to the neighbouring Idlib province, the owner of a fleet of lorries in the north-west told The National. Idlib is controlled largely by rebel groups aligned with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a coalition of anti-regime militant groups.
There are an estimated 4.4 million people living in these two rebel-held areas. Many of them face widespread poverty and are dependent on aid and remittance from relatives living abroad.
The delivery of aid has been influenced by the various parties in the struggle for control of Syria.
Alongside Turkey, the US, Iran and Russia have all carved out zones of influence or control in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
In July last year, disagreements between the US and Russia ended a UN Security Council arrangement under which aid was delivered to the north-west without any input from the government in Damascus.
Moscow, which alongside Tehran backed Mr Al Assad in the war, blocked the arrangement in support of its ally. As a result, Damascus gained the final decision on whether to allow the cross-border aid shipments.
But the region is now less dependent on UN aid due to the agency cutting the amount, mainly for budgetary reasons, as well as increased aid and trade flows from Turkey, said the humanitarian sources and residents who spoke to The National.
Instead, the move is seen largely as symbolic and driven by Moscow.
One UN aid official, who did not want to be named, told The National Russia has told Mr Al Assad not to prevent aid deliveries from Turkey and to preserve Moscow’s relations with Ankara.
“If it was up to Assad he would have stopped the aid last year,” the official said.
Turkey and Russia, which form the core of the so-called Astana process on Syria, almost came to war in north-western Syria in early 2020.
The two countries have since reached an equilibrium that kept Turkey’s militia allies in control of the area but limited their scope for territorial gains at the expense of the regime.
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22
One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES
Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)
Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)
Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)
Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
