Desperate for aid, Syrian Kurds urge UN to open al-Yarubiyah border crossing

AL-YARUBIYAH, Syria —  Civilians and authorities of northeastern Syria have called on the United Nations and the international community to push for the re-opening of an essential border crossing connecting Iraq to Rojava.

"The financial situation of the people is dire. There is drought. Prices have all gone up. People can barely make ends meet," said  Ali Ahmed, a resident of Tel Kochar town.

At least 400,000 internally displaced persons and the health sector in northern Syria have been severely damaged by the closure of the al-Yarubiyah border crossing, according to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Al-Yarubiyah, a key entry point for UN aid to some 1.3 million people in northern Syria has remained closed since a UN Security Council decision in early 2020.

Dilgash Fatim, co-president of the Kurdish Red Crescent, told Rudaw last week, “We hope this crossing will be opened for humanitarian assistance once again, so we can meet the demands of the refugee camps and our people can receive aid, especially at this time when everyone has been gripped by the coronavirus."

“The WHO [World Health Organization] should deliver aid to us the way they did to the government [of Syria]. We have received very little amounts of aid in the past and it has never been enough for our people," he added.

The Kurdish-led administration of north and east Syria (Rojava) called on the United Nations and the international community last week to push for the opening of an essential border crossing connecting Iraq to Rojava.

UN aid, which is a key lifeline for millions of Syrians, is currently only allowed into northwestern Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, which connects Turkey with Idlib province. The Security Council on Friday voted to keep Bab al-Hawa for another year. 

A decade of war has crippled the country and left millions displaced and heavily dependent on humanitarian aid. The UN estimates some 13.4 million Syrians require humanitarian aid and protection.

 

Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali

Video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed