MESOP TODAY’S SYRIA INSIGHT : “UN : 100 Palestinians died by Starvation”

Members of the U.N. Security Council have put forward a draft resolution on humanitarian access in Syria. Australia, Jordan, and Luxembourg finalized the Western and Arab backed text late Wednesday. The draft includes demands for cross-border aid access and an end to aerial bombardments — including references to the government’s use of barrel bombs. It additionally warns of unspecified “further steps” in the event of non-compliance.

Diplomats said the 15-member council will likely vote on the proposed resolution Friday. It is unclear if Russia and China will support the draft. The two parties have previously vetoed three resolutions condemning the Syrian government. On Wednesday afternoon, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly I. Churkin, said, “There are still some pretty thorny issues which we are talking about.” Meanwhile, the Syrian government has allowed UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency supporting Palestinian refugees, to resume food distribution to the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus after an 11-day halt. According to the United Nations, over 100 people have died in Yarmouk since mid-2013 from starvation or illness.