UN Security Council Authorizes Cross-Border Aid Access In Syria

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Monday authorized humanitarian access without Syrian government consent at four border crossings into rebel-held areas from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, although Syria has warned it deems such deliveries an attack.

The unanimously adopted resolution establishes for 180 days a monitoring mechanism for the loading of aid convoys in neighboring countries, which will notify Syrian authorities of the "humanitarian nature of these relief consignments."

The United Nations says some 10.8 million people in Syria need help, of which 4.7 million are in hard-to-reach areas, while another three million have fled the conflict. The more than three-year civil war has killed at least 150,000 people.