UN Ready To Boost Humanitarian Action In Northern Syria Amid Turkish Offensive - Spokesman

The United Nations stands ready to bolster its humanitarian response in northern Syria amid the start of the Turkish offensive in the region, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Wednesday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th October, 2019) The United Nations stands ready to bolster its humanitarian response in northern Syria amid the start of the Turkish offensive in the region, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"Our colleagues on the humanitarian side have shown over the past their ability to scale up in times of crisis on multiple occasions," Haq said. "And we can be prepared, if we have the humanitarian access that we need, to scale up in response to this current situation."

Haq said cross-border aid operations in Syria remain the only vital form of delivery in terms of timeliness and reach, adding that access to the country's northwest for humanitarian partners registered by the Syrian government is restricted.

"It remains, therefore, critical to fully preserve all possible avenues for humanitarian access," the spokesman said.

Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan announced the start of a long-promised military incursion in Syria, dubbed Peace Spring, aimed at clearing the border area of Kurdish fighters and establishing a safe zone.

Media reported that Turkish warplanes attacked targets in at least four towns in Syria's Hasakah province and two towns in the Raqqa province. In addition, Turkish jets hit a powerline supplying electricity to the Alluk water management facility, as well as a dam north of Al-Malikiyah.