Renewal of cross-border aid mechanism promises little relief for war-displaced Syrians

Special Renewal of cross-border aid mechanism promises little relief for war-displaced Syrians
Syrian children queue for food at a camp near the Turkish border. (AFP)
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Updated 14 January 2023

Renewal of cross-border aid mechanism promises little relief for war-displaced Syrians

Renewal of cross-border aid mechanism promises little relief for war-displaced Syrians
  • Aid workers say six-month extension insufficient to meet scale of humanitarian need in rebel-held northwest
  • After almost 12 years of civil war, some 1.8 million people live in camps and informal settlements in the area

LEEDS, UK: A six-month extension of a UN Security Council deal guaranteeing cross-border aid to Syria is insufficient to deal with the overwhelming suffering in the country’s rebel-held northwest, humanitarian agencies warn.

After weeks of uncertainty, the council voted unanimously on Jan. 9 to renew the aid lifeline, allowing assistance to reach millions of people displaced by the conflict, which is now approaching its 12th year.

Just a day before the resolution was due to expire, the 15-member council agreed on an extension until July 10, permitting aid to be delivered across Turkiye’s border via the Bab Al-Hawa crossing.

The crossing provides more than 80 percent of the needs of people living in rebel-held areas and is the only way UN assistance can reach civilians without crossing areas controlled by the Bashar Assad regime.




Aid arrives at a camp for displaced Syrians. (AFP)

Russia, an ally of the regime, has long called for aid to pass exclusively through regions under the control of Damascus, and has vetoed cross-border extensions that exceed six months.

Although the renewal has been welcomed by aid agencies, many say the six-month extension is far too short to allow for a sustainable, meaningful and cost-effective humanitarian response.

“Shorter mandates contribute to a cycle of contingency planning, which limits our capacity to reach those who require assistance,” Nicola Banks, advocacy manager at the UK-based charity Action for Humanity, told Arab News.

“Humanitarian conditions are worsening, and agencies’ inability to plan ahead for longer than six months risks assistance that is less effective and more expensive.”

Medecins Sans Frontieres, which receives almost all of the supplies needed for its Syria response via the Bab Al-Hawa crossing, is also concerned about the limits imposed by the six-month renewal.

“Insecurity and access constraints continue to severely limit our ability to provide humanitarian assistance that matches the scale of the needs,” Sebastien Gay, MSF’s head of mission for Syria, told Arab News.

The capacity of aid agencies “to fulfill the needs of people, particularly food and health care, is being weakened by the prolonged economic crisis, hostilities and a general decrease of humanitarian funding over the years.

“Even with the cross-border mechanism in place, the need for humanitarian assistance and medical care in northwest Syria exceeds what is provided by humanitarian organizations.”




Inmates’ relatives wait outside a Damascus prison after an Assad regime crackdown. (AFP)

Gay said that the short-term renewal of the cross-border resolution has already created gaps for organizations operating in northwest Syria in the past year, limiting their ability to work on long-term projects and solutions to people’s needs.

According to a Security Council report published in December, just 18 percent of the $209.5 million needed for the winter response in Syria has been funded. This lack of certainty has forced agencies such as MSF to stretch their intervention.

“It is difficult to predict the future for the displaced people in northern Syria, especially while the conflict continues, and insecurity persists for this extremely vulnerable population,” he said.

“In the past two years, MSF has seen various health facilities and projects downscale their activities or close after losing their funds. Against this backdrop, MSF had to step up services to cover critical gaps.

“Downscaling those services endanger the lives of thousands of pregnant women and girls and their new-born children or lead to the spread of waterborne diseases, including cholera.”

After almost 12 years of civil war, about 1.8 million people now live in camps and informal settlements in Syria’s rebel-held northwest, according to the latest data from the UN Refugee Agency, with plummeting winter temperatures exacerbating already harsh conditions.

INNUMBERS

• 14.6m People in dire need of humanitarian aid.

• 75 percent Syrian households unable to meet their basic needs in 2021.

• 2.5m Syrian refugee children out of school.

• 1.6m Syrian children at risk of dropping out.

The camps were designed to act as temporary shelters, but tens of thousands of civilians fleeing violence now find themselves trapped in squalid, overcrowded sites with limited access to food, clean water, sanitation, healthcare and adequate shelter.

“Tents leak, the streets turn to mud, and freezing temperatures take a heavy toll on people’s physical and mental health,” Gay said.

Many families in the camps are living in the same canvas tents provided by aid agencies 10 years ago.

“The temperature inside and outside the tent is the same,” Hisham Dirani, CEO of the Violet Organization, a Syrian NGO, told Arab News. “This threatens the lives of children. Last winter, we witnessed children die due to the cold conditions at night.”

Along with the biting cold, the winter months bring a host of hazards, including respiratory diseases, waterborne infections, and even burns and complications caused by smoke inhalation due to improper heating methods.

Families with access to a stove and fuel are considered lucky. But even keeping warm can prove fatal, as fires occur “hundreds of times each winter,” said Dirani.

“Parents stay awake at night in anticipation of any emergency the kids may face, and keep the heater running by burning anything.”

In previous years, families burned wood, coal and pistachio shells to heat their tents. This year, amid a nationwide fuel shortage, even these basics have become scarce, leading many to burn trash and anything else they can find.

“Inhaling fumes from burning plastic, manure and coal is harmful and often results in children falling ill,” a spokesperson for the Hand in Hand for Aid and Development Foundation, a Syrian-British charity, said.

“The damp winter conditions, compounded by overcrowding and a lack of access to adequate sanitation, are likely to increase cases of respiratory infection, health issues from smoke inhalation and waterborne diseases.”

Hospitals operating near the camps “have recorded an increase in cases of bronchitis and lung damage in children,” the foundation’s spokesperson said.

“Without a proper response, this winter is likely to cause deaths from hypothermia or fires inside tents.”

Gay said that MSF medics treated 980 burn victims in northern Idlib last winter. In 2021 alone, 345 fires broke out in camps in the region, killing 12, injuring 61 and destroying 516 shelters, according to UNHCR.

Fires and noxious fumes are not the only threats facing camp communities over winter. Without sufficient drainage, sites are frequently flooded, destroying possessions, compounding cold conditions and breeding waterborne diseases.

According to the foundation spokesperson, storms and heavy rain destroyed more than 6,700 tents and damaged over 22,800 in camps across northwestern Syria.

Disease is also exacting a heavy toll. Idlib has recorded more than 14,000 suspected cholera cases and Aleppo more than 11,000 since the outbreak began in September, making the cities the second and fourth worst-hit in Syria, respectively.




Cold, hunger and inadequate shelter take a heavy toll on Syrian children in overcrowded camps. (AFP)

These regions are particularly vulnerable because they rely on polluted water from the Euphrates River to drink and irrigate crops, and because the health sector in rebel-held Syria has been battered by more than a decade of war.

It is not just the physical toll of these conditions that concern humanitarian aid agencies. Years of uncertainty, poor living conditions and untreated psychological trauma have created a mental health crisis among the displaced.

According to HIHFAD, there were 83 suicides in the camps between early 2021 and mid-2022.

Unless funding targets are met by donor nations and access via Bab Al-Hawa is guaranteed for longer than six months at a time, aid agencies warn they will lack the capacity to save lives and ease suffering in northern Syria.

“We continue to call for a 12-month mandate, and hope a 12-month mandate will be the subject of future discussions,” Banks, of  Action for Humanity, told Arab News.

This would enable aid agencies to scale up their response with the predictable, long-term support needed, she said.


Gaza fisherman tests waters in legal fight over Israeli blockade

Gaza fisherman tests waters in legal fight over Israeli blockade
Updated 25 min 38 sec ago

Gaza fisherman tests waters in legal fight over Israeli blockade

Gaza fisherman tests waters in legal fight over Israeli blockade
  • Palestinians argue it is an effective siege that has crippled Gaza’s economy
  • Fishing zone currently extends to only between 11km and 28km off the Gaza coast

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza fisherman Jihad Al-Hissi is used to rough waters but he now faces a new storm. An Israeli court may seize his boat after he breached the limits of the enclave’s fishing zone.
The issue is crucial for thousands in the blockaded Palestinian territory of 2.3 million people, where fishing in the Mediterranean Sea remains one of the few economic lifelines.
Hissi, 55, with square shoulders and a scruffy beard, told his story at Gaza’s dock early one morning as fishermen sold their overnight catch of sea bream, prawns and sardines.
For now he has his boat, but its fate is uncertain as Israeli authorities argue before a Haifa court that it should be permanently taken away.
The vessel, used to catch gamberi prawns off southern Gaza near Egypt, is named the “Hajj Rajab,” but its owners have erased the name from its yellow hull.
“I don’t want the Israelis to spot us and seize my boat,” said Hissi, who had a violent encounter with an Israeli naval patrol boat more than a year ago.
Israel says its land, air and sea blockade of Gaza is needed to protect it from rocket and other attacks from Hamas and to prevent arms smuggling to the Islamist militant movement.
Palestinians argue it is an effective siege that has crippled Gaza’s economy and further impoverished its people, while the fishing limits deny it crucial protein.
Last year’s incident came on February 14 when Hissi’s vessel ventured beyond the maritime zone that Israel declared in 2007, the year Hamas seized power in Gaza.
Jihad’s brother Nihad, who was at sea that day, said that “100 meters beyond the area, we were surprised by three Israeli boats with commandos.
“They attacked our boat ... tied us up and arrested us.”
The boat’s cabin is still damaged from the water cannon blasts and the rubber-encased bullets fired by the Israeli forces that day.
Israel, in documents presented to court, accuses Hissi of having “repeatedly violated the security restrictions imposed by the Israeli army in the maritime zone adjacent to Gaza.”
The Israeli non-government group Gisha has helped defend Hissi and in September secured the boat’s return, but Israeli authorities now demand the court “permanently confiscate” the vessel.
The fishing zone allowed by Israel currently extends only to the heavily fished areas between six and 15 nautical miles (about 11 to 28 kilometers) off the Gaza coast.
Hissi argues this is less than the maximum of 20 nautical miles agreed in the 1990s under the Israeli-Palestinian agreements in Oslo.
But he also admits to going even beyond that from time to time, in search of shrimp which nets around $21 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) and can make the difference between profit and loss.
The legal fight is closely watched by thousands of fishermen in Gaza.
If Hissi’s boat is permanently confiscated, this would spell “a serious threat to the thousands of fishermen in Gaza, because it aims to put an end to fishing,” charged Nizar Ayyash, president of the union representing the 4,000 fishermen in Gaza.
The court battle comes amid a rise in Israel’s temporary seizures of fishing boats suspected of smuggling or breaching the fishing zone.
Last year saw 23 boat confiscations, the highest number since 2018, according to the Palestinian non-governmental group Al-Mezan.
The group also recorded 474 security incidents involving Gaza fishermen last year, the most in five years.
Gisha lawyer Muna Haddad argued that the case was “outrageous” and came amid “an unprecedented escalation in targeting those fishermen.”
Haddad accused Israel of misusing provisions of international law on armed conflict regarding the seizure of enemy ships by imposing them on civilians.
In the court documents seen by AFP, Israel claims Hissi “abused” legal protections and that his crew had “threatened” the safety of soldiers during the maritime seizure.
Israeli military officials assured AFP they wanted to support Gaza’s economy — but without compromising Israel’s security.
“We fish to survive,” said Hissi, whose family once lived in Jaffa, now part of Tel Aviv, before fleeing to Gaza during the 1948 war.
“And we will continue to fish even when our profits are low. I don’t know how to do anything else in life anyway.”


Syria says Israel attacked Aleppo airport, no casualties

Syria says Israel attacked Aleppo airport, no casualties
Updated 22 March 2023

Syria says Israel attacked Aleppo airport, no casualties

Syria says Israel attacked Aleppo airport, no casualties
  • Attack causes material damage in the second attack on the facility this month
  • Airport has been one of the main channels for the flow of aid into the country after the Feb. 6 earthquake

DAMASCUS: An Israeli airstrike early Wednesday targeted the international airport of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, causing material damage in the second attack on the facility this month, state media report.
State news agency SANA, quoting an unnamed military official, did not mention if the strike caused any deaths or injuries. It said warplanes fired the missiles toward Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and once commercial center, while flying over the Mediterranean.
The airport has been one of the main channels for the flow of aid into the country after the Feb. 6 earthquake hit Turkiye and Syria, killing over 50,000 people, including more than 6,000 in Syria.
On March 7, an Israeli airstrike put the airport out of service for several days and flights were rerouted to two other airports in the war-torn country until the damage was fixed.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Israel has targeted airports and seaports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.


Probable civilian deaths during British air strikes in Iraq throw doubt on ‘perfect’ war claims

Probable civilian deaths during British air strikes in Iraq throw doubt on ‘perfect’ war claims
Updated 22 March 2023

Probable civilian deaths during British air strikes in Iraq throw doubt on ‘perfect’ war claims

Probable civilian deaths during British air strikes in Iraq throw doubt on ‘perfect’ war claims
  • UK forces were probably responsible for civilian deaths in at least six strikes on the city of Mosul in 2016 and 2017

LONDON: Civilian deaths as a result of air strikes on Daesh targets in Iraq have been linked to British forces, according to a Guardian investigation released on Tuesday.

Forces in the US-led coalition fighting against Daesh in Iraq have admitted the killings of hundreds of civilians in Iraq in the period after 2014, but Britain’s government and military have long claimed that a “perfect” war was fought, in which no non-combatants or ordinary Iraqis were killed.

However, the report, which was carried out with the watchdog Airwars, concluded that UK forces were probably responsible for civilian deaths in at least six strikes on the city of Mosul in 2016 and 2017.

In the strikes highlighted, the coalition admits the deaths of 26 civilians, and victims of two of the strikes were identified in the report.

A further strike on Jan. 9, 2017 on Mosul, which coalition officials accepted killed two civilians, has been confirmed as a Royal Air Force mission, but British officials deny that the casualties were civilian but rather legitimate militant targets.

British bombing in Iraq as part of the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition efforts against Daesh started in 2014, and in Syria the year after, with more than 4,000 munitions in the two countries, the report concluded.

UK military figures claim 3,052 Daesh militants were killed in Iraq with no civilian deaths, with 1,017 militants killed in Syria with one civilian death, between 2014 and 2020.

“There is no evidence or indication that civilian casualties were caused by strikes in Syria and Iraq,” a Ministry of Defense spokesperson told the Guardian.

“The UK always minimizes the risk of civilian casualties through our rigorous processes and carefully examines a range of evidence to do this, including comprehensive analysis of the mission data for every strike,” the spokesperson said.

However, critics say that the British position is not convincing.

Former military officials have called the claim of no civilian deaths in Iraq “a stretch” and “nonsense,” especially after the 2016 Chilcot report into the UK’s role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq found that not enough had been done to locate injured or killed non-combatants.

If Britain is forced to accept responsibility for civilian deaths, a law passed in 2021 set a six-year cut-off point for compensation claims for survivors, which leaves those in Iraq and Syria unable to make a claim against the government.

 


Kuwait, UK hold strategic dialogue in London

Kuwait, UK hold strategic dialogue in London
Updated 22 March 2023

Kuwait, UK hold strategic dialogue in London

Kuwait, UK hold strategic dialogue in London

LONDON: The first session of strategic dialogues between Kuwait and the UK were held in London on Monday with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in several fields, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

The Kuwaiti side was led by Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah while the British side was chaired by James Cleverly, secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs. 

During the session, Cleverly said although the world has witnessed significant changes, Kuwaiti-British relations had grown stronger. He also lauded Kuwait’s well-balanced foreign policy, which focuses on promoting regional security and peace. 

Sheikh Salem and Cleverly discussed the most recent regional and international developments as well as strategies for enhancing international cooperation. They also coordinated on issues such as the situation in occupied Palestinian territories and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
 


Houthi court jails Yemeni YouTubers

Houthi court jails Yemeni YouTubers
Updated 3 min 39 sec ago

Houthi court jails Yemeni YouTubers

Houthi court jails Yemeni YouTubers
  • The four YouTubers were apprehended by the Houthis from various places in Sanaa and at various periods in December and January

AL-MUKALLA: A Houthi-controlled court in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, jailed four Yemeni YouTubers on Tuesday and shut down their internet channels after accusing them of inciting the public against the militia, rekindling indignation against the Yemeni militia and their habit of punishing dissidents through courts.

Abdul Majeed Sabra, a Yemeni lawyer who defends abductees held in Houthi prisons, said the Specialized Criminal Court of First Instance in Sanaa sentenced Ahmad Elaw to three years in prison, Mustafa Al-Mawmari to one and a half years, Ahmed Hajjar to one year, and Hamoud Al-Mesbahi to six months, accusing them of circulating false information to damage national security.

The court ordered the closure of their YouTube channels and a fine of almost $40,000. The court also ordered the confiscation of Elaw’s mobile phones, cameras, and bank accounts.

Waddah Qutaish, the YouTubers’ attorney, said on his Facebook page that the judge read out the judgment without providing any grounds or evidence for granting it, calling the sentence “unjust” and intended to stifle free speech, and stating that he has filed an appeal.

The four YouTubers were apprehended by the Houthis from various places in Sanaa and at various periods in December and January.

The Houthis abducted Hajjar, a well-known Yemeni comedian, actor, and YouTuber, as he walked down Al-Zubairi street in Sanaa in December, just days after he appeared in a video criticizing the Houthis for overtaxing people, failing to pay government salaries, corruption, and failing to address aggravating poverty.

The Houthis kidnapped the other three YouTubers in January after they released videos showing support for Hajar, calling for his release, and criticizing the Houthis once more.

Al-Mawmari is the most popular YouTuber with over 2 million YouTube subscribers and tens of thousands of Facebook fans, followed by Elaw with 800,000 YouTube subscribers.

On Monday, Houthi security services released a video of the YouTubers confessing to inciting the public to revolt against the movement, as well as creating fake content and social media accounts, apologizing for criticizing the militia, and blaming “aggression” for the worsening economic situation in Sanaa, referring to the Yemeni government and the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.

The ruling has provoked protests against the Houthis, who have been accused of attempting to muzzle dissenting voices. “Al-Houthi is an unruly gang that utilizes the court as a weapon for repression…and the abolition of individual liberties,” Mohammed Al-Ahmadi, a Yemeni journalist, said on Facebook.