Palestinians from Yarmouk camp receive food aid south of Damascus. Aid group Mercy Corps says it is now only operating in rebel-held areas of Syria. Photograph: Reuters
Leading provider of aid in Syria told by Assad officials not to operate in opposition-held areas in defiance of UN resolution
One of the largest aid providers in Syria, Mercy Corps, has been forced to close its operations in Damascus because Syrian officials said it could not work in opposition-held areas of the country.
The demand is in defiance of a UN security council resolution demanding that all those who need humanitarian aid in the war-torn state be able to receive it, no matter where they are.
Mercy Corps confirmed to the Guardian that it stopped working in the Syrian capital on 30 April after having to choose between operating from areas of the country controlled by the Syrian army and those under rebel control.
"We are deeply disappointed by the closure of our Damascus-based operations," said the aid group's spokesperson, Cassandra Nelson. "Since 2013, Mercy Corps has also maintained aid-delivery operations from Damascus into south-central Syria – with the consent of the Syrian government – serving more than 350,000 affected civilians."
At the same time, the NGO has been delivering aid into the rebel-held north reaching more than 1.7 million civilians, and making it the largest provider of relief to opposition areas.
Delivery of aid has remained contentious throughout the Syrian war, which is now into its fourth year, with regime officials insisting that all relief be funnelled through the state apparatus. But with almost half the population having been displaced and the Syrian military having lost control of large parts of the country, those most in need have increasingly sought shelter in opposition areas, or across borders.
Aid has been routinely denied to some opposition areas, such as theYarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus, and in the old city of Homs, which was retaken by Syrian forces in late-April after a crippling siege. Some opposition fighters and their families who were allowed to leave as part of a surrender deal say they were starved into submission.
A resolution passed by the UN security council this year aimed to ensure equal access to food, blankets, clothing, water and medicine. Resolution 2139 was hailed as the first meaningful decision by the global body that has been in deadlock since the war began, with Syrian allies, Russia and China, vetoing all other moves to impose pressure on regime officials.
Even that resolution, which avoided blaming either side for the crisis, was only passed after protracted debates about wording and no threat of enforcement.
"Humanitarian relief has become so politicised," said a European ambassador working on Syria who did not want to be named. "Because it was a big step for the Syrians to acknowledge that they could no longer control the whole country and for Russia to acknowledge that those who were suffering were real people, not terrorists. It defied both their narratives."
Nelson said: "Our experience clearly shows that the Syrian Government has not been swayed by UNSC resolution 2139 to allow aid to cross through border crossings it does not directly control. These direct and high capacity access routes are often the best way to deliver large volumes of urgent assistance to civilians in need.
"It has been 90-days since the resolution was approved and, unfortunately, we are still not seeing any positive, major changes on the ground. The international community must continue to elevate this issue and push for the full implementation."
Dominic Bowen, co-ordinator for the NGO Forum, which acts as a steering body for aid agencies in northern Syria, said: "Any organisation forced to choose between one side or the other has clearly lost any form of control or independence. This goes completely against the spirit of aid.
The Syrian government is clearly neglecting their obligations to protect their own citizens. I would suggest that there are similar considerations being faced by other agencies."
On Thursday up to 21 people, 11 of them civilians, all of whom were attending a Bashar al-Assad election rally are reported to have been killed in the town of Deraa during a mortar attack.
The attack took place less than two weeks before a presidential election that is certain to rubber stamp Assad's bid to become Syrian leader for a third seven-year term. Residents of opposition-held areas are prevented from voting, unless they cross back to regime areas and register with the authorities.
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