U.N. Plans No Imminent Airdrops of Aid in Syria, Despite Expired Deadline
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Version 0 of 1. GENEVA — The United Nations on Thursday dimmed any prospect of immediate airdrops of aid to Syrian civilians trapped by the war, despite an expired deadline imposed on Syria’s government to allow unfettered humanitarian access by land. United Nations officials said the World Food Program, its anti-hunger agency, had no imminent plans for airdrops even though the organization had known for more than two weeks about the deadline, which expired on Wednesday. Moreover, the officials said, it would be necessary for security reasons for any airdrops to have the consent of the Syrian government. They also emphasized what they called the logistical challenges and expense of airdropping aid into congested urban settings controlled by insurgents, where thousands of civilians lack access to food and medicine. The deadline was imposed by the International Syria Support Group, a multinational effort that includes the United States and Russia — Syria’s most important ally — which was thought to have given the demand some coercive effect. The group said on May 17 that if land access were not granted by President Bashar al-Assad, the World Food Program should “immediately carry out a program for air bridges and airdrops for all areas in need.” United Nations officials had hinted last week that they were not necessarily prepared to conduct airdrops right away if Mr. Assad ignored the deadline. But they were more emphatic in their caution about airdrops on Thursday, 24 hours after the deadline had passed. “As you know, the air delivery is certainly not a substitute for land delivery,” Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, the deputy special envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva. “Land delivery is more effective, more efficient and less costly. Air delivery is complex and extremely expensive, but it remains an option if land deliveries do not go through.” Jan Egeland, a senior United Nations adviser who is chairman of the International Syria Support Group’s humanitarian task force, also was cautious about the prospect of air deliveries and sought to emphasize his hope that the Syrian authorities would allow more land convoys in coming days. “I think that everybody agrees that to go by land with 100 tons in a few trucks is better than a few tons by helicopter,” Mr. Egeland told reporters. He also said that if “we have to go by air delivery, World Food Program and unarmed humanitarian organizations would need clearance by the government.” “If that is not there, then it is clearly a question for the member states” of the International Syria Support Group, he said. The tone of their remarks contrasted with some Western members of the group, exasperated with the Syrian government’s denial of aid to civilians in areas controlled by insurgents. Britain and France have said airdrops should commence now. Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, Matthew Rycroft, said at its New York headquarters on Thursday that he hoped “preparations for airdrops will now take place and go forward rapidly because there isn’t a moment to lose.” On Wednesday, Syria’s government allowed United Nations agencies and the Red Cross to deliver the first aid for four years to the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Daraya. That convoy, however, included only medicines, vaccines and some “nutritional supplies” such as baby milk powder, not the food that the United Nations had said weeks earlier was the priority. The Syrian authorities previously gave consent for the World Food Program to airdrop supplies to the government-held town of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, which is besieged by the Islamic State extremist group. Forty-five high-altitude airdrops have been made over Deir al-Zour, where wide-open spaces are suitable for parachute drops. But Mr. Egeland acknowledged that international relief agencies had fallen far short of their planned deliveries of humanitarian aid in May as a result of government obstruction. Despite that setback, he expressed optimism that the United Nations would be able to deliver humanitarian relief by road to 11 locations in the next few days, including three besieged areas that have not yet been reached by any aid. The first test of the government’s willingness to allow such deliveries will come in the next day or two, when the United Nations plans to send another convoy to Daraya, this time loaded with food. The convoy was originally scheduled to leave on Friday, but for reasons he did not explain, Mr. Egeland said it might have to wait another day. “There are clear indications it will go in a very short period of time,” he said. |