Russia announces the closure of the crossings which it opened in Idlib and Aleppo, after it was free of any movement of civilians
The deputy head of the so-called “Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria,” Lieutenant General Alexander Karpov, announced the closure of three “humanitarian” crossings in the Idlib and Aleppo governorates, starting today, Tuesday, March 30th.
Karpov said, “The conditions in the areas adjacent to the Saraqib and Miznaz crossings in Idlib governorate, and at the Abu Zendin crossing in the Aleppo governorate, which was opened with the help of the Russian Civilian Protection Authority, are still deteriorating.”
The Russian official accused the revolutionary factions in the region of carrying out “provocative bombing and disrupting the movement of citizens and vehicles in the exit corridors,” declaring that “as of the 30th of this March, the work of these corridors will be suspended until the situation stabilizes and conditions are created that guarantee the safety of citizens.”
In a statement issued today, Tuesday, the Syria Response Coordinators Team affirmed that no civilians have been prevented from heading through the so-called “humanitarian corridors” towards the Assad regime-controlled areas.
The statement of the response coordinators stressed that no civilians were prevented from heading towards the Assad regime-controlled areas through the so-called “humanitarian corridors,” pointing out that if the crossings were opened in reverse, we would witness a wave of mass exodus of residents in the regime-controlled areas towards northwestern Syria.
The statement accused Russia of politicizing humanitarian work by preventing aid from reaching northwestern regions of Syria, and seeking to direct it to regime-controlled areas.
Russia had opened two crossings in Saraqib and Miznaz in Idlib countryside, and another in Abu Zendin in the countryside of Aleppo, to “facilitate the passage of civilians” towards the Assad regime-controlled areas, with those crossings being free of any movement of civilians from the northwestern regions of Syria.