UN council mulls authorizing cross-border Syria aid access
UNITED NATIONS - UN Security Council members are considering a draft resolution to authorize cross-border aid deliveries into Syria at four points without government consent, diplomats said on Thursday, after an earlier council demand for greater access was ignored.
The 15-member Security Council achieved rare unity in unanimously approving a resolution in February that demanded rapid, safe and unhindered aid access in Syria, where a three-year civil war has killed more than 150,000 people.
But deputy UN aid chief Kyung-wha Kang told the council on Thursday that the resolution had failed to make a difference. About 9.3 million people in Syria need help and 2.5 million have fled, according to the United Nations.
Council members Australia, Luxembourg and Jordan have drafted a stronger follow-up resolution that UN diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said would authorize deliveries into Syria at specific points from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan to reach millions of Syrians in opposition-held areas. (Reuters)
