UN Security Council Extends Talks on Cross-border Aid to Syria

The UN Security Council meets in New York, in January 2020 - AFP
The UN Security Council meets in New York, in January 2020 - AFP
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UN Security Council Extends Talks on Cross-border Aid to Syria

The UN Security Council meets in New York, in January 2020 - AFP
The UN Security Council meets in New York, in January 2020 - AFP

The United Nations Security Council will continue negotiating Friday on extending authorization of aid transfers across Syria's border, one day after a scheduled vote was scrapped following disagreement between Russia and the West.

Moscow is seeking a six-month extension, with the possibility to renew, while Western nations want a full year for the transfers, which are being conducted without approval from Damascus.

According to AFP, a vote had been set for Thursday to extend approval of the aid deliveries across the Syrian-Turkish border at Bab al-Hawa, the authorization for which has been in effect since 2014 and is set to expire Sunday.

Norway and Ireland, two non-permanent members of the 15-country Council, produced a new text Thursday evening, which would provide for a six-month extension until mid-January 2023, and then an additional six-month extension "unless the Council decides otherwise."

The extension would also be conditional on a "substantive report" by the secretary-general, including on the operation's transparency, progress on channeling aid across the front line, and progress on meeting humanitarian needs.

Uncertainty remained as to whether the proposal would suit Russia and whether a vote would be possible on Friday.

Nearly 10,000 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid passed through Bab al-Hawa last year, bound for the opposition-held Idlib region in northwestern Syria. It is the only crossing through which aid can be brought into Idlib without navigating areas controlled by Syrian government forces.

Moscow, which holds veto power on the Security Council and is an ally of Damascus, has curtailed a number of Western-backed measures in recent years.

It views the authorization as a violation of Syria's sovereignty, and believes the delivery of aid to the northwest region should only be carried out from Damascus across the front line.

Russia had hinted in recent months that it would oppose an extension, having already forced a reduction in the number of allowed border crossings.

However its latest draft proposal submitted Thursday, which competes with that of Norway and Ireland, proposes extending the aid by six months, with the potential for the Council to decide in January upon another six months.

Western nations have deemed the text unacceptable, as there is no guarantee of an extension at the start of the new year.

The latest competing texts do however call for "further initiatives to broaden the humanitarian activities in Syria," including in water, sanitation, health, education and shelter.

In recent weeks, dozens of NGOs and several senior UN officials have lobbied Security Council members for the yearlong cross-border aid clearance.



Tebboune Elected to Serve Second Term Leading Algeria

Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
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Tebboune Elected to Serve Second Term Leading Algeria

Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)
Officials count the ballots at an electoral office after the end of voting in the presidential elections, in Algiers, Algeria, 07 September 2024. (EPA)

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been named the winner of Algeria's presidential election, granting him another term leading the gas-rich North African nation five years after protests led to the ouster of his predecessor.

In a result that surprised few observers internationally or in Algeria, the country's independent election authority on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94% of the vote, far outpacing his challengers Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who won 3% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who won 2.1%.

Election officials reported less than six million of the country's 24 million voters had turned out to vote on Saturday, perpetuating the low voter turnout rates that marred Tebboune's first term and raised questions about his popular support.

Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world's population.

Throughout the campaign, activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, railed against the campaign season's repressive atmosphere and the harassment and prosecutions of those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups. Some denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.

But Tebboune and his two challengers each urged political participation and specifically made overtures to the Algerian youth, who make up a majority of the population and disproportionately suffer from poverty and unemployment.