As the death toll rises and thousands of survivors are trying to find shelter in freezing northwest Syria, many people are asking a simple question: Why can’t the UN send aid straight into the region from wherever it wants?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

A thread👇: Although relatively quiet at the moment, war is ongoing and UN access to the rebel-held northwest depends on a UN Security Council Resolution. It first passed in early years of Syria’s war, after clear obstruction of aid to border regions by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

🔴 Türkiye-Syria earthquake death toll passes 17,000
🔴 Hope fading for those still beneath rubble
🔴 First UN aid convoy enters northwest Syria

Follow the latest updates on thread here ⬇️

buff.ly/3xarx7P 🏚️ Hope is fading fast for those beneath the rubble in the wake of devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria on Monday morning.

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🔴 Türkiye-Syria earthquake death toll set to pass 10,000
🔴 Rescuers are still struggling to reach worst-hit areas
🔴 Aid workers say Syria’s civil war is complicating relief efforts

Follow the latest updates on thread here ⬇️

buff.ly/3Xeihu6 🏚️ Survivors in southern Türkiye and northwest Syria spent a second night in the freezing cold as rescuers raced to pull more people from the rubble two days after an earthquake decimated the region.

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@MSF_WestAfrica has suspended medical activities in Cameroon's English-speaking Southwest region as security risks increase and the organisation seeks to release four staff members who have been under arrest for months. The five-year conflict in Cameroon has been marked by spikes of violence against civilians. Rights groups accuse both the security forces and secessionist fighters of serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings, rape, kidnapping, and torture.

“Dark Day” for the World Health Organization as damning report confirms large-scale sexual abuse allegations during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo – an investigation triggered by @newhumanitarian's reporting
thenewhumanitarian.org/2020/09/29/exc…
thenewhumanitarian.org/2021/05/12/exc… A panel identified more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse during the Ebola response. The allegations were in addition to the cases discovered by The New Humanitarian, suggesting the scale of the abuse was much larger than previously thought.

Humanitarian news thread: This week’s Cheat Sheet is out, here’s a rundown of our editors’ takes from around the globe.
👇 Lockdown relief needed

1.6 billion people working in the informal economy have seen livelihoods destroyed by coronavirus lockdowns and are in desperate need of a safety net, says @ilo...

Attack leaving at least 6 dead in a Protestant church in northern Burkina Faso is latest in rise of violence rippling through Sahel. Read @pkleinfeld from the front line of this spreading conflict, speaking to civilians, aid workers, and militia leaders:
thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2019/04/1… While insecurity has since spread – with militants tapping into local grievances in the east and southwest – the epicentre of violence remains in Soum and areas in the north of #burkinafaso. Read @pkleinfeld on the spreading violence and displacement: thenewhumanitarian.org/special-report…