After the earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria in February, Damascus initially allowed the Un to dispatch aid to opposition-held areas of the country using the two border crossings from Turkey for three months. That was renewed in May and has now been extended until Nov. 13.
"We greatly welcome the extension of permission by the Government of Syria to utilize the Bab al-Salam and Al Ra'ee border crossings until November 13th," said Un aid spokesperson Eri Kaneko, according to Reuters.
Syria's mission to the United Nations in New York confirmed the extension.
Following the earthquake, the United States and the European Union issued sanctions waivers to pave the way for more aid into Syria. While humanitarian assistance is exempt from sanctions, the waivers aimed to combat the chilling effect of the measures that made some banks and companies wary of dealing with Syria.
According to the Reuters claim, the EU has extended its waiver until Feb. 24, but the broad US authorization - known as a license - expired on Tuesday.
It "was a time-limited authorization intended to reinforce existing humanitarian authorizations for disaster relief and ensure that affected Syrians had access to emergency assistance after the earthquake," said a US Treasury spokesperson.
U.S. authorizations facilitating the work of aid groups and the United Nations remain in effect, the spokesperson said.
The Norwegian Refugee Council's Syria advocacy manager, Emma Forster, warned the expiration of the broad US measure "will mean an increase in overcompliance and de-risking that hinders the speed and efficiency of the humanitarian response in Syria."
MNA/PR
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