US lawmakers in Congress have called on their government to work to restore humanitarian efforts in Syria, and the United Nations has warned that 8 million Syrians will experience food insecurity, at a time when 6 European countries have asked the Security Council to hold the Syrian regime accountable for its use of chemical weapons.

The letter was sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by a number of legislators, led by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Republican Senator Jim Rich, and Chairman of the House Affairs Committee on Democratic Affairs Elliot Anckel.

The letter stated the necessity of intensifying diplomatic efforts in the Security Council to preserve the current humanitarian operations across the Syrian border, restore the Al-Yarubiya border crossing with Iraq, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Syrians.

Lawmakers stressed that maintaining humanitarian roads is necessary to reach a lasting political solution to the crisis, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

On the other hand, spokeswoman for the United Nations World Food Program, Elizabeth Byers, told a press statement on Tuesday that about 8 million Syrians are food insecure, stressing that the World Food Program is doing its best to reach those in need.

Byers noted that about 940,000 Syrians have been displaced from northwestern Syria since December 2019 due to ongoing conflicts, noting that they live in overcrowded camps that could have severe consequences from the spread of the Corona virus.

Byers reported that they continue to deliver food aid to people in need through Turkey, explaining that in cooperation with their partners they provided food assistance to 1.7 million people last March, as this food is necessary to maintain people's strength and their immune systems.

The Syrian regime’s attacks on Idlib since the beginning of last year have killed more than 1,800 civilians, and displaced more than 1,242,000.

The site that was bombed by the regime's planes with toxic gases in Latamna in the northern Hama countryside (activists)


Chemical weapons
In another context, Britain, France, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Estonia on Tuesday called on members of the UN Security Council to hold accountable the elements of the Syrian regime involved in the use of chemical weapons against civilians in 2017.

A joint statement to this effect was issued after a closed consultations session of the Security Council, during which representatives of Member States heard two statements from the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Fernando Arias and coordinator of the Investigation and Identification Team on Chemical Weapons attacks in Syria Santiago Onati.

In its statement, the six countries welcomed the release of the first report of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on April 8, which accused the regime's air force of carrying out chemical attacks on the town of Latamna in Hama Governorate in March 2017.

The statement stressed that "impunity for these terrible acts will not be tolerated. It is now up to the international community to consider the report and take appropriate action."

On Tuesday, Russia and China boycotted the closed meeting, as Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebinza told a news conference that Moscow had one requirement: "The interaction take place in an open framework."

"Unfortunately, our Western partners and their allies have insisted on holding this meeting behind closed doors ... despite the slogans of openness and transparency in the Security Council," he added.