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Rulers Assad and Putin: Civilians are being starved to death
Photo: Sputnik Photo Agency / REUTERS
They live in tents and ruins.
Often they don't have more than a piece of bread to eat, and sometimes not even that. When they get sick, there is seldom anyone to look after them.
Around four million people live in Idlib, the last Syrian province still held by rebels.
And although the conditions are already difficult to bear, they could soon get dramatically worse.
The residents of Idlib cannot look after themselves on their own.
They are dependent on help from abroad, which so far has mainly reached the province via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey.
The UN and non-governmental organizations transport 1000 truckloads of food and medicine to Idlib every month.
"People will die quietly"
Now Russia wants to cut this last line of life.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is pushing for aid deliveries to be carried out via Syria's capital Damascus in the future, just as his protégé, dictator Bashar al-Assad, would like.
The members of the UN Security Council had actually agreed in 2014 to open four border posts to north-west Syria in order to provide support to civilians.
Last year, the regime in Moscow threatened not to extend the mandate.
Ultimately, a minimum compromise was agreed, according to which at least Bab al-Hawa remains open.
But now Putin wants to close this transition from July 10th.
The consequences for the people in Idlib would be devastating.
The whole of Syria is already suffering from famine.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), 12.4 million Syrians have difficulties to eat, around two thirds of the population and 4.5 million more than a year ago.
Food prices rose 247 percent in 2020.
Amnesty International warns that if Bab al-Hawa is closed, around a million people would be cut off from food, water and medicine at one stroke.
"The people in Idlib have no voice," says Huda Khayti, the director of a women's center in Idlib, the "Deutsche Welle".
"If there is no help, then they will die quietly - either from hunger or from disease."
Assad seems to be aiming for exactly that.
He repeatedly starved cities and municipalities in a targeted manner.
His military tried years ago to recapture Idlib from the rebels, which ultimately failed mainly because of the resistance from Turkey.
However, Assad has already made it clear that he ultimately wants to bring the entire country back under his control - no matter what the cost.
The world community has all too often ignored the suffering of Syrians
The world community must not let him get away with it. Above all, the EU and the USA must put pressure on Putin to get him to agree to an extension of the UN mandate. Putin would like the West to contribute financially to the reconstruction of Syria. His counterparts should make it clear to him that this cannot even be negotiated as long as the protection of civilians in Syria is not guaranteed. One should also think about sanctions against Moscow in Brussels and Washington if Russia consistently blocks aid to Syria.
Turkey, the main protective power of the rebels in Idlib, is also challenged.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prevented a bloodbath by wrestling from Putin and Assad a ceasefire for Idlib last March, which is more or less holding to this day.
The Turkish government has a great interest in ensuring that hundreds of thousands of people seeking protection from Syria do not make their way to Turkey again.
She, too, should act on Putin to keep the Bab al-Hawa border crossing open.
The world community has all too often ignored the suffering of Syrians in recent years.
If she does not get Putin to relent in the negotiation of the UN mandate, she will be complicit in another humanitarian catastrophe.
