SW News: For the first time in Syria's 12-year civil war, every district is experiencing some kind of "humanitarian stress" and a startling 15.3 million people or nearly 70% of the population require humanitarian assistance, the United Nations reported on Tuesday.

Less than 10% of a $5.4 billion UN appeal to aid more than 14 million Syrians has been financed, and the UN World Food Program has warned that without more funding, 2.5 million people risk losing food or financial support as of July.

Edem Wosornu, the director of operations for the UN humanitarian office, presented the Security Council with a severe humanitarian situation that was made even worse by the February earthquake that wreaked havoc in the northwest region held by rebels.

She said as essential infrastructure and basic services are in danger of failing, the Syrian people are becoming more and more dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Wosornu urged generous pledges and the swift release of funds at a European Union-hosted conference in Brussels on June 14-15. She said Syrians need the support of the international community now more than at any time in the past 12 years. She said the need to maintain the delivery of humanitarian aid to the northwest is even more critical after the earthquake.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a 12-month extension of the UN mandate, which expires in July, saying the assistance is indispensable and a matter of life and death for millions of people in the region.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country is a close ally of Syria, said Moscow shares concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation. But he said cross-border aid delivery has outlived its usefulness and sees no reason and no reason at all to extend it.

The United States will seek a council resolution, according to US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, to extend aid shipments through the three border crossings that are currently open: Bab Al-Hawa as well as Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée, which Syrian President Bashar Assad agreed to open after the earthquake, which killed over 6,000 people in Syria and caused over 330,000 to be displaced. Assad has consented to maintain the two extra crossings open until August 13.
After a 12-year suspension, Assad was welcomed back to the Arab League this month. The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the Security Council that meetings with Syrian officials in Moscow and Amman and this one in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, might give long-stalled peace efforts fresh life.
In his words, new diplomatic efforts could act as a circuit breaker in the search for a political solution in Syria - if there is constructive Syria engagement, and indeed if key regional and international groups and players can work together.