The Syrian regime has extended the permission for the United Nations to deliver aid to opposition-held areas in northwest Syria through two border crossings with Turkey for another four months.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it welcomes the Syrian government’s approval to continue using the Bab al-Salama and al-Rai crossings from Turkey until November 13.

OCHA said on Monday, August 12, that the extension of the crossings enables UN agencies to continue providing humanitarian assistance to those in need in northwest Syria.

It added that the cross-border humanitarian operation from Turkey, which also uses the Bab al-Hawa crossing, is a lifeline for aid to northwest Syria, where millions of people require humanitarian assistance, including food, nutrition, health, shelter, protection, education, and other vital support.

OCHA mentioned that it and its partners are appealing for slightly more than $4 billion this year to assist more than ten million people across Syria.

It added that its ability to respond remains constrained by funding shortfalls, as only 24%, approximately $960 million, of the required funding has been received so far.

The Syrian regime, a week after the earthquake struck northern Syria and southern Turkey on February 6, 2023, agreed to temporarily open two additional crossings (Bab al-Salama and al-Rai) from Turkey to northwest Syria for three months, which ended in May, and were extended until August 13 before being extended again.

The regime does not control these two crossings, which are under the control of the Syrian opposition, which manages most of the crossings on the Syrian-Turkish border.

On the fourth day after the earthquake, several indicators suggested the existence of a deal to facilitate the entry of aid in exchange for certain concessions to the Syrian regime, as the US Treasury Department exempted the regime from sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act for six months for all transactions related to earthquake response, which were previously banned under Syria’s sanctions regulations.

From the earthquake’s occurrence until July 12, the number of UN aid trucks that entered northern Syria through Bab al-Salama amounted to 921 trucks, and 100 trucks through al-Rai.