UN asks Syria to extend deadline for post-quake aid access

The United Nations has asked Syria’s government to extend its approval for two additional crossings to deliver post-earthquake aid into opposition-held
zones, a spokesperson said on Friday, but two informed sources said an extension was unlikely.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed to open the crossings of Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ee for three months starting on Feb. 13, a week after the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria. Parts of the northwest are held by groups opposed to Assad in the 12-year-long civil war.
A day before the permission’s expiry, U.N. humanitarian aid agency spokesperson Jens Laerke said it had requested “an extension of the special measures adopted after the 6 February earthquakes to continue facilitating the humanitarian response to all affected areas.”
Laerke said talks were “constructive.” When asked if an extension had been granted, he referred Reuters to the Syrian government, which did not respond to emailed questions.