UN implicated in Syria aid failures after earthquake

GENEVA (Reuters): The United Nations, as well as the Syrian government and other actors, are responsible for delays in getting emergency aid to Syrians after the earthquake, a UN-appointed commission of inquiry said on Monday.

The allegations add to a growing chorus of criticism of the global body for its role in the immediate aftermath of last month’s earthquake that killed some 6,000 people, mostly in the rebel-held northwest near the Turkish border.

“Though there were many acts of heroism amid the suffering, we also witnessed a wholesale failure by the Government and the international community, including the United Nations, to rapidly direct life-saving support to Syrians in the most dire need,” said Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the commission, in a statement.

The statement further said that the above actors failed to agree a pause in hostilities and to allow life-saving aid through any available route, leaving Syrians feeling “abandoned and neglected by those supposed to protect them, in the most desperate of times.”

Syria’s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A UN humanitarian office (OCHA) spokesperson did not immediately provide a comment since the report was not yet public when asked.