The UN Security Council on Friday renewed a cross-border aid operation to Syria but in a watered down form that cut the number of border crossings and halved the length of the mission.

The authorization allows humanitarian aid to enter Syria for another six months and only from two border crossings with Turkey in the northwest of the war-torn country not controlled by President Bashar Assad. Previously, assistance had been extended by a year and at four border crossings with Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.

By limiting the number crossings, more than 1 million people in northeast Syria could be cut off from humanitarian aid. The UN says 2.7 million people in the Syria's northwest Idlib province and 1.3 million in the northeast rely on assistance.

Russia and China abstained in the vote, prompting Britain and the United States to abstain in protest.