Congress sounds alarm on weaponization of Syrian aid
The US Congress is warning that Turkey and Russia could join the Syrian government in blocking humanitarian aid for the war-torn country even as lawmakers seek to redirect it from regime-held territory.
The future of humanitarian aid in Syria is uncertain amid concerns that Turkey and Russia could block it in the northeast amid multi-front violence pitting Ankara and its Arab rebel proxies against Syrian Kurdish fighters and the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
A group of Democratic senators began sounding the alarm bells Thursday that the situation in the northeast could exacerbate a “looming disaster.” The warning comes as a bipartisan group of House lawmakers push legislation that could tear US aid dollars for Syria out of the hands of the United Nations in a bid to shift the assistance to rebel-held territory.
