UN must keep moving quake aid to Syria after deadline: Amnesty

On February 6, a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 55,000 people across both countries.

The UN chief said on February 13 that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to open the Bab al-Salama and Al-Rai crossings from Turkey to allow aid to enter for an initial period of three months.

Damascus has yet to announce an extension of the authorisation.

The UN "must continue to deliver aid" through those two crossings after May 13 "regardless of whether the government renews" its consent, Amnesty said in a statement.

Before the disaster, almost all desperately needed humanitarian aid for the more than four million people living in rebel-controlled areas of Syria was being delivered from Turkey through one conduit -- the Bab al-Hawa crossing.

The number of UN-approved crossings into Syria had shrunk from four in 2014, after years of pressure from government allies China and Russia at the UN Security Council.

"The lives of more than four million people are at stake and international law is clear that their rights must be paramount," Amnesty's Sherine Tadros said in the statement.

"The UN should take a clear stand against the cruel political machinations that have hampered its humanitarian operations in northern Syria for several years," Tadros added.

Eri Kaneko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said discussions with the Syrian government had been "constructive".

"We have requested an extension of the special measures... to continue facilitating the humanitarian response to all affected areas," she told AFP.

Turkish-backed rebels operate the Bab al-Salama and Al-Rai crossings in Aleppo province, while the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham controls Bab al-Hawa in the Idlib region.

The UN estimated earlier this week that Syria needs almost $15 billion to recover from the quake, and put the total cost of damage and losses at almost $9 billion.