Equipo Nizkor - UNSC S/2016/571 - Position of Syria regarding the 28th report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of several SC resolutions on humanitarian aid in Syria.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/571 |*|

Distr.: General
1 July 2016
English
Original: Arabic

Identical letters dated 23 June 2016 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

On instructions from my Government, I should like to convey to you the position of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic regarding the twenty-eighth report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015) (S/2016/546).

The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms the positions that it has previously communicated in its identical letters addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council responding to the reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015). It would also like to stress the following points:

1. The Syrian Government deplores the fact that, even though we are now entering the sixth year of the Syrian crisis, the authors of the report continue to turn a blind eye to the principal cause of the crisis in Syria, which is the terrorism that continues to receive the support of the Governments of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France, the United Kingdom and others. Those States are providing money, weapons, ammunition, materiel, terrorist fighters and mercenaries to armed terrorist groups in Syria, notably the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Nusrah Front organizations. Such support, whether direct or indirect, covert or overt, is in blatant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Wilfully ignoring and evading that fact will not help to alleviate the suffering of Syrians.

2. The Syrian Government reminds the Secretariat that Syrians, when they flee from the terrorism, tyranny, and crimes of the armed terrorist groups, take refuge in areas protected by the Syrian Arab Army. They seek safety and security within the embrace of the State. There have been many vivid examples of this. When hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced from Idlib and Raqqah, they fled to Tartus, Ladhiqiyah, Hama, Homs, Damascus and Rif Dimashq governorates. When civilians were forced to leave Yarmouk camp after it was overrun in April 2015 by the terrorist ISIL organization with the complicity and assistance of the Nusrah Front and other terrorist organizations, they fled to Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham.

3. The report should have addressed the violations of international law and blatant interference by the Governments of Western and Arab States and of States of the region in the internal affairs of the Syrian State by spreading extremism in the region and using terrorism as an instrument to achieve narrow political gains. It also should have addressed the unilateral and coercive economic, commercial and financial measures imposed by the European Union and the United States against the Syrian people and its economy, which have exacerbated the humanitarian situation of those Syrians who have borne the brunt of the crisis, particularly those in vulnerable groups.

4. The Syrian Government stresses that the report's evasion and wilful ignorance of the facts will not make them go away. That is the hard reality. The United Nations must not forget that successes in the delivery of medical and other humanitarian assistance by the United Nations or other parties to beneficiaries in both stable and unstable areas during the past months and years, most recently in May 2016 (as detailed in paragraphs 36, 39 and 40), would not have taken place without the assistance and facilities provided to the United Nations and its specialized agencies and to international organizations by the Syrian Government. Attempts to minimize such successes by pointing out cases where delivery of assistance was incomplete or conditional are ludicrous. The Syrian Government deplores the Secretariat's continued insistence on omitting any reference to its efforts so as to downplay the Syrian Government's role in providing help to its people without discrimination.

5. The Syrian Government rejects attempts by the Secretariat to burnish the image of armed terrorist groups by calling them "non-State armed opposition groups" (paragraphs 17, 19 and 62). We wonder what the Secretariat's legal basis is for calling the terrorist Nusrah Front, which is the backbone of the so-called Army of Conquest, part of the "non-State armed opposition" (paragraph 17). Also, how can the Secretariat classify the terrorist Ahrar al-Sham movement, which works openly with the terrorist Nusrah Front, as the "armed opposition" (paragraph 19)? Certain States even classify it as the "moderate armed opposition". We call upon the Secretariat to inform the Syrian Government and the Member States of the United Nations of the legal basis for this strange classification.

6. The Syrian Government rejects the authors' characterization of the information provided by the Syrian Government on the numbers of victims of terrorist attacks in May as allegations, and rejects the statement that such victims "had allegedly been killed" (paragraph 6). The information provided by the Syrian Government to the United Nations has been officially documented and is verifiable, unlike the information received by the Secretariat from organizations and individuals who claim to be credible and honest but are in fact mercenaries who are misleading the United Nations while carrying out the orders and agendas of their employers and backers. The Syrian Government reiterates that it rejects the claims made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as it relies on allegations and unreliable sources and relays its reports from Beirut, far from where the events are taking place, through parties friendly to the terrorist organizations. The Syrian Government calls upon the Secretariat to change this unprofessional approach, which serves not the truth but rather the prejudices of certain influential States on the Security Council by demonizing the efforts of the Syrian Government and its allies to combat terrorism.

7. The Syrian Government reiterates its rejection of attempts by the Secretariat to draw an equivalence between counter-terrorism activities and the terrorist acts perpetrated by such terrorist organizations as ISIL, the Nusrah Front and the armed groups affiliated with them and with Al-Qaida, including the terrorist groups that rain down mortar shells, rockets and "hellfire" cannon shells on Aleppo daily, as well as the groups that committed the massacre in Zarah in Hama governorate in April and claimed responsibility for the terrorist bombings in the cities of Jablah and Tartus on 23 May 2016 and the suicide attack in the Sayyidah Zaynab area in June. Those attacks were perpetrated by terrorist groups such as Ahrar al-Sham, the Army of Conquest, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade, Northern Shield and others.

8. The Government finds odd the report's excessively bleak characterization of medical assistance to victims in various Syrian regions and cities. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations managed to deliver medical assistance to some 1.5 million beneficiaries in May (paragraphs 36 and 42). We reiterate yet again that WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other organizations would not have been able to provide medical assistance to such a large number of beneficiaries without the facilities, cooperation and coordination of the Syrian Government. The Syrian Government yet again asks the United Nations to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of any problems in the delivery of such assistance so that they can be addressed. It also reiterates its principled rejection of efforts to deliver medical assistance to armed terrorist groups, as it does not want terrorists to continue killing Syrian civilians.

9. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic rejects the Secretariat's inclusion in the report of incorrect, out-of-date and contradictory information on the official Syrian response to WHO requests to deliver medical assistance to several areas. The Syrian Government stresses that information provided about these requests must not be misleading. From the beginning of 2016 to date, the Syrian Government has approved 11 WHO requests, not six. In certain cases, the Syrian Government informed WHO that it would not be possible to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. Even after obtaining the requisite approvals, United Nations agencies have been unable to access many areas because of terrorist threats.

10. The Syrian Government is surprised that the authors did not convey the entire picture concerning the armed terrorist groups based in the city of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib governorate that prevented Idlib health department medical staff at gunpoint from vaccinating children. Those terrorist groups then went ahead and vaccinated children in the Khan Shaykhun area themselves, poisoning a number of children who then had to be taken to Ma'arrah hospital in May. The same thing happened with a 2014 vaccination campaign carried out by persons affiliated with the so-called opposition coalition in Idlib, which claimed the lives of 17 children and poisoned dozens with spoiled vaccines that had been smuggled across the border in coordination with the Turkish regime and non-governmental organizations that betrayed their humanitarian ideals.

11. The Syrian Government reiterates its condemnation of the partiality shown by the Secretariat towards the Turkish Government at the expense of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians in Hasakah governorate who are suffering as a result of the Turkish Government's deliberate closure of the Nusaybin border crossing and refusal to approve United Nations requests to bring humanitarian assistance into Hasakah governorate through that crossing. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic once again asserts that it is not the case that the border crossing has been closed temporarily for security reasons since December 2015 (paragraph 47), but rather for well-known political reasons. The Syrian Government is astonished by the double standards demonstrated by the United Nations, certain Security Council members and all those responsible for the humanitarian work of the International Syria Support Group, who have failed to pressure the Turkish Government to permit the immediate delivery of assistance to Hasakah governorate through the Nusaybin crossing. We remind you that the Turkish Government, with the knowledge of the members of the Security Council, has continued to allow the use of the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salamah crossings even though armed terrorist groups are deployed on both sides. The Turkish authorities use these and other crossings for smuggling weapons and terrorists into Syria on the pretext that they are delivering humanitarian and medical assistance on behalf of organizations claiming humanitarian and charitable status, such as the Turkish regime's Humanitarian Relief Foundation, as Turkish newspapers reported on 14 June 2016. That organization does not deliver humanitarian assistance, as the Erdogan regime claims, but rather arms for terrorist groups.

12. The Syrian Government notes that as of 21 June 2016, there had been 221 applications for entry visas from United Nations organizations and specialized agencies. Of these, 196 had been granted and only 16 visa requests were still being processed. As of 21 June 2016, the United Nations and its specialized agencies had submitted 437 residence visa applications. Of those, 414 had been approved and 22 were being processed.

13. The Syrian Government reiterates its position that cross-border assistance is futile, and condemns once more the Secretariat's insistence on covering up the fact that assistance continues to fall into the hands of known armed terrorist groups. The notifications sent to the Syrian Government do not meet the minimum standard of credibility in terms of figures, information, numbers of beneficiaries and particulars on which parties collect and distribute the aid. The Syrian Government also rejects the Secretariat's attempts to inflate the number of aid beneficiaries into the millions in areas where the population, including children, is merely in the thousands, and reiterates that the United Nations monitoring mechanism cannot verify that cross-border assistance is reaching its rightful beneficiaries. We remind you that the Bab al-Hawa, Bab al-Salamah and Ramtha crossings are entry points for arms, materiel and ammunition being smuggled to armed terrorist groups in Syria. For example, on 19 and 20 April 2016, large quantities of ammunition entered Syria from Jordan inside refrigerators belonging to the Jordanian Red Crescent. The Syrian Government calls on the United Nations to condemn the exploitation of the cross-border activities of humanitarian organizations to support terrorist organizations operating in Syria and to transfer weapons, not humanitarian assistance, to Syria. It also calls for an investigation into what happens to assistance when it crosses the border and falls into the hands of armed terrorist groups.

14. The Syrian Government finds it deplorable that the Secretariat should distort the facts about what happened on 12 May 2016 concerning the agreed-upon delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Darayya area (paragraph 57). The particulars of that incident are explained in the Syrian Government's response to the twenty-seventh report of the Secretary-General (S/2016/477).

15. The Syrian Government reiterates its rejection of the Secretariat's attempts to equivocate regarding the so-called besieged areas in several paragraphs of the report, including paragraphs 51 and 60, notably by inflating or downplaying the numbers of inhabitants in such areas as Darayya, Duma, Harasta, Sharqiyah, Zamalka, Irbin and Qadsiya in Rif Dimashq governorate. The Syrian Government deplores the Secretariat's reference to the so -called siege of Yarmouk, when the Secretariat knows that the camp was besieged from inside by the terrorist ISIL and Nusrah Front organizations and that the majority of the camp's inhabitants were able to reach the nearby town of Yalda and receive the assistance earmarked for them. The Syrian Government also rejects the Secretariat's description of certain areas, such as Duma and Darayya, as "besieged" when enormous amounts of arms, materiel and funds still find their way there. Those areas are hubs for armed terrorist groups such as ISIL and the Army of Islam. The Syrian Government is surprised that the report fails to mention the reason for the suspension by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of assistance to the people of Yarmouk camp through Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham, which is that armed groups there issued a statement announcing that they were the only ones authorized to oversee the distribution of assistance and to receive aid convoys entering Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham.

16. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic once again calls on the Security Council to prevail on those States that support and finance armed terrorist groups to refrain from doing so, in implementation of the Security Council resolutions on combating terrorism and the financing thereof, particularly resolutions 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2253 (2015). Compliance with and enforcement of those resolutions is the key to resolving the situation in Syria and ensuring unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need in Syria.

17. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms its long-standing position that the crisis in Syria requires a political solution based on dialogue among Syrians under Syrian leadership and without preconditions or foreign interference. It further stresses that the political approach goes hand in hand with counter-terrorism efforts, which will continue until all of the armed terrorist groups active in Syria have been eradicated. It furthermore reminds the Secretariat that the success of the political approach and any significant improvement in the humanitarian situation will depend, above all, on creating a climate conducive to a serious international and regional commitment to fighting terrorism that is non-politicized and free of double standards, as well as on an immediate end to the unilateral coercive economic measures being imposed on the Syrian people with no legal or moral basis and in clear violation of humanitarian law.

18. I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annexes issued as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Bashar Ja'afari
Ambassador
Permanent Representative

Annex I to the identical letters dated 23 June 2016 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Crimes committed by ISIL, the Nusrah Front, the Free Army, the Army of Islam, Ahrar al-Sham, the Army of Conquest and other armed terrorist groups ignored by the authors of the report

In the period 22 April to 21 May 2016, terrorists killed 174 civilians, including 39 children, and injured 857 civilians, including 161 children, across the governorates of Syria, not including Raqqah and Idlib.
On 1 May, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Rashidin, Old City, Salah al-Din and Sha'ar neighbourhoods opened fired and launched mortar shells and gas cylinders at the Jam'iyat al-Zahra', Halab al-Jadidah, Aziziyah, Hamdaniyah and Arqub neighbourhoods, killing three civilians and injuring seven others. Material damage was caused.
On 1 May, in Dayr al-Zawr, armed terrorist groups belonging to the ISIL organization launched 13 mortar shells at the Qusur and Thawrah neighbourhoods, killing two civilians and injuring seven others.
On 1 and 2 May, in Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Rashidin, Mashhad, Old City, Bustan al-Basha, Bustan al-Qasr, Rashidin al-Rabi'ah, Salah al-Din and Sha'ar neighbourhoods opened fire and launched mortar shells and gas cylinder missiles at the Shahba', Ansari, Sulaymaniyah, Sayyid Ali, Talal, Nile Street, Aziziyah, Maydan, Jamiliyah, Maysalun, Bab al-Faraj, Hamdaniyah and Arqub neighbourhoods, killing five civilians and injuring 63 others with shrapnel. Material damage was caused.
On 3 and 4 May, in Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Bustan al-Qasr, Bani Zayd, Rashidin, Bustan al-Basha, Rashidin al-Rabi'ah, Salah al-Din and Old City neighbourhoods fired sniper rounds, opened fire and launched mortar shells and gas cylinders at the Bustan al-Zahrah, Nile Street, Suryan al-Qadimah, Jamiliyah, Jam'iyat al-Zahra', Old City, Muhafazah, Shahba', Idha'ah, Mushariqah, Minyan, Maydan, Salah al-Din, Sayf al-Dawlah, Hamdaniyah, A'zamiyah, Bab al-Faraj, Sulaymaniyah and Khalidiyah neighbourhoods, killing 21 civilians and injuring 93 others. Extensive material damage was caused. Armed terrorist groups belonging to the ISIL terrorist organization located in the towns of Adnan and Biyanun also fired three locally made missiles at the towns of Nubul and Zahra', injuring three civilians and causing material damage.
On 7 and 8 May, in Dayr al-Zawr, armed terrorist groups belonging to the ISIL organization launched 22 mortar shells at the Qusur, Thawrah and Tahtuh neighbourhoods, injuring eight civilians with shrapnel, including three women, and causing material damage.
On 8 and 9 May, in Homs, armed terrorist groups belonging to the ISIL terrorist organization fired missiles at the Muhr gas collection station north of the Hajjar checkpoint on the Homs-Tadmur (Palmyra) highway, causing a fire. They also attacked the gas pipeline leading to the aforementioned station with a car bomb at Bi'r Tallat al-Muhr.
On 8 and 9 May, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al -Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Old City and Bustan al-Basha neighbourhoods fired sniper rounds, opened fire and launched mortar shells and gas cylinders at the Jamiliyah, Maydan, and Sulayman al-Halabi neighbourhoods, killing five civilians and injuring two others. Material damage was caused.
On 8 and 9 May, in Dayr al-Zawr, armed terrorist groups belonging to the ISIL organization launched 22 mortar shells at the Qusur, Thawrah and Tahtuh neighbourhoods, killing four people and injuring six others. Material damage was caused to some buildings, shops and automobiles.
On 9 and 10 May, in the city of Dayr al-Zawr, armed terrorist groups belonging to the ISIL organization launched 16 mortar shells at the Harabish and Huwayqah neighbourhoods, injuring eight civilians with shrapnel, including two women and three children, and causing material damage.
From 12 to 16 May, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Ansari, Khan Tuman, Amiriyah, Layramun, Karm al-Tirab, Rashidin al-Rabi'ah, the Old City, Amiriyah and Bustan al-Qasr fired sniper rounds and launched mortar shells at the Sayf al-Dawlah al-Hamdani, Khan Tuman, Ramusah, western Shaykh Maqsud, Afrin, Suq al-Intaj, Hamdaniyah, Sayf al-Dawlah, Salah al-Din, Shahba' (near the media centre) and Fayd neighbourhoods, killing four civilians and injuring 24 others.
On 16, 17 and 21 May, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Rashidin, Bustan al-Basha and Bani Zayd neighbourhoods fired sniper rounds and launched mortar shells at the Halab al-Jadidah, the Old City, Muhafazah, Aziziyah and Hamdaniyah neighbourhoods, killing a child and a woman and injuring 24 other civilians, including women and children.
On 20 and 21 May, in the city of Dar'a, armed terrorist groups belonging to the Nusrah Front launched "elephant" rockets and artillery shells at the city of Dar'a, injuring seven civilians and causing material damage.
On 23 and 24 May, in the city of Tartus, a terrorist blew himself up with a car bomb at the new departure terminal. Then three other suicide bombers blew themselves up with explosive vests at the main and southern gates and across from the west side of the garage. Some 40 civilians were killed and 81 others injured, and extensive material damage was caused in the area.
On 23 and 24 May, in Ladhiqiyah, a car exploded at the new Jablah departure terminal. Then two suicide bombers blew themselves up in front of the entrance to the Jablah electricity department and the Tadamun-Fawwar junction. Then another suicide bomber blew himself up at the Jablah National Hospital. Some 125 civilians were killed and others were injured. Extensive material damage was caused and the hospital was taken out of service.
On 23 and 24 May, in Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in Bustan al-Qasr, Bustan al-Basha and Bani Zayd neighbourhoods launched mortar shells at the Zahra', Maydan, Shaykhan, Jamiliyah, Ashrafiyah and Sabil Street neighbourhoods, killing six civilians, including three women, and injuring 1 7 others with shrapnel, including women and children. Armed terrorist groups in the towns of Adnan and Biyanun also launched more than 20 rockets at the towns of Nubul and Zahra' killing some civilians and injuring three others with shrapnel.
On 27 and 28 May, in the city of Hama, the armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Confederation of Glory in the village of Zaka launched six rockets at the thermal power station in the city of Muhradah, injuring two workers and setting fire to a fuel tank. Material damage was caused to the fuel and cooling pumps.
From 27 to 29 May, in the city of Aleppo, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Nusrah Front, the Nur al-Din al-Zanki battalion, the Islamic Front, Liwa' al-Tawhid, the Badr Martyrs Brigade, the Emigrants Brigade and Northern Shield located in the Bustan al-Basha, Bani Zayd and Old City neighbourhoods launched mortar shells and gas cylinders at the Maydan, Ashrafiyah, Bab al-Faraj, Jam'iyat al-Zahra', Layramun, Sulaymaniyah and Minyan neighbourhoods, killing two civilians and injuring 25 others.
On 30 and 31 May, in Rif Dimashq, armed terrorist groups belonging to the so-called Army of Islam, the Rahman Corps and the Nusrah Front located in the town of Arbin launched mortar shells at the Traffic and Emergency Services Auxiliary complex, the Technical Services Directorate building, the Sakal Company, the Medical Services School and the Assad suburb in Harasta, killing two civilians and injuring a woman and child. Material damage was caused.

Annex II to the identical letters dated 23 June 2016 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Examples of humanitarian assistance that was delivered during May 2016 thanks to the facilitation provided by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations and other international organizations, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Also listed is assistance delivered by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid (food and non -food aid and medical assistance), provided from inside Syrian territory by United Nations agencies, to various governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Aleppo, Qunaytirah, Hasakah, Homs, Hama and Dar'a. Some 2,188,840 Syrian beneficiaries (437,768 families) received food parcels provided by the World Food Programme through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Some 495,915 beneficiaries (99,183 families) received food parcels provided by the United Nations through non-governmental organizations. The total number of the beneficiaries of United Nations assistance distributed from inside Syrian territory thus stands at 2,684,755 (536,951 families). The above-mentioned assistance was distributed to the governorates by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent as follows: 72,552 parcels in Rif Dimashq; 19,620 parcels in Dar'a and its countryside; 62,000 parcels in Aleppo and its countryside; 150 parcels in Hasakah; 41,542 parcels in Hama and its countryside; 64,316 parcels in Homs and its countryside; 19,945 parcels in Dayr al-Zawr; 5885 parcels in Suwayda'; 59,141 parcels in Damascus; 56,856 parcels in Ladhiqiyah; 11,765 parcels in Qunaytirah; and 23,996 parcels in Tartus.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from inside Syrian territory to most of the governorates, including Rif Dimashq, Qunaytirah, Dar' a, Aleppo, Hama and Homs. A total of 80,695 food parcels were delivered, in addition to 57,987 canned food parcels and food aid for community kitchens for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries. An additional 57,734 parcels provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies were distributed in Homs, Aleppo, Damascus and Rif Dimashq governorates.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent delivered humanitarian aid (food and non-food aid, medical assistance, water purifiers, wheelchairs and baby food) provided by United Nations agencies, ICRC and eight foreign non-governmental organizations in Syria to hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries in Aleppo, Hasakah, Rif Dimashq, Dar'a, Qunaytirah, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Suwayda', Tartus and Ladhiqiyah governorates.
From 2014 through the end of May 2016, a total of 13 6,982 food parcels and 42,580 medical parcels have been delivered to the inhabitants of the camp by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. That is in addition to the ongoing operation to provide non-food aid, other foodstuffs, medical care and dental care. We also note that the Palestine refugees in Yalda, Babila and Bayt Saham are inhabitants of Yarmouk camp who were displaced from the camp after the terrorist organization ISIL overran it in April 2015 in collusion with the terrorist Nusrah Front and other terrorist groups present inside the camp.

Notes:

* Reissued for technical reasons on 20 July 2016. [Back]

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01Jul16

Position of Syria regarding the 28th report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of several SC resolutions on humanitarian aid in Syria