BRUSSELS: The European Union said Thursday it is temporarily easing sanctions on Syria to speed up aid deliveries to the country two weeks after a devastating earthquake.
Aid organizations will no longer need to seek permission from EU member state governments before sending supplies and services to sanctioned entities in Syria, the European Council representing the bloc’s countries said in a statement.
The measure will last for six months and was taken “in view of the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in Syria exacerbated by the earthquake.”
The massive 7.8-magnitude quake on February 6 has killed more than 42,000 people in Turkiye and more than 3,600 in Syria.
The EU pointed out that it and its member states are at the forefront of donors of humanitarian aid to conflict-torn Syria, having contributed a total 27.4 billion euros ($26 billion) to that country and to refugee-hosting neighbors such as Turkiye since 2011.
Post-quake, the EU provided 3.5 million euros for urgent humanitarian needs in Syria.
Syria’s government and businesses linked to it have been under EU sanctions because of Damascus’s violent repression, making European aid contributions tricky.
The EU sanctions, imposed in 2011, target 291 individuals and 70 entities for asset freezes and a travel ban.
The change made Thursday means “the EU has waived the need for humanitarian organizations to seek prior permission from EU member states’ national competent authorities to make transfers or provide goods and services intended for humanitarian purposes to listed persons and entities,” the statement said.
The UN’s World Health Organization said Wednesday it was taking advantage of a post-earthquake pause in sanctions to move badly needed health supplies and equipment into war-torn Syria.
But activists and emergency teams in Syria’s northwest have decried the UN’s slow response to the quake in rebel-held areas, contrasting it with the planeloads of humanitarian aid that have been delivered to government-controlled airports.
EU eases Syria sanctions to speed up quake aid
https://arab.news/zefdq
EU eases Syria sanctions to speed up quake aid
- Measure will last for six months and was taken in light of the "humanitarian crisis in Syria exacerbated by the earthquake"
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
