Fastest News Updates around the World

Activists describe “shameful” aid shortfalls in earthquake-stricken northwest Syria

23

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -

More than a week after the earthquake struck, activists said no aid has arrived from Syrian government-held areas to help victims in the devastated opposition-held enclaves in the war-torn country’s northwest.

Local humanitarian groups in Idlib governorate, northwestern Syria, described the lack of efforts – especially international efforts that were delivered to their earthquake-stricken area – as “shameful”.

“The Syrian people have simply been abandoned by all sides,” said Abdul Kafi, an activist from the Aleppo countryside in northern Syria.

Nothing is coming from the Damascus government into opposition-held areas, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“The aid coming into northwest Syria is very little. It does not meet the needs of desperate people,” he told Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA).

Abdul Rahman rejected what he called “the idea of ​​politicizing a humanitarian cause and manipulating people’s lives.”

These are people who “need all the help in all parts of Syria after this natural disaster,” he said.

Activists said the Syrian Red Crescent tried to get aid into opposition areas, but the shipment was stopped by elements of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib.

After a civil war that lasted for more than 11 years, Syria today is fragmented into areas under the control of different parties, a situation that makes post-earthquake humanitarian aid delivery more difficult.

The head of Syrian aviation in government-controlled areas, Bassem Mansour, said that relief planes landed at airports in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia.

He said at least 110 planes from 20 countries carrying relief supplies have landed in areas under government control so far.

Many countries refrain from cooperating directly with the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, suspecting that it will misuse aid supplies.

“We need full access on both sides,” said Michael Ryan, director of emergency programs at the World Health Organization, referring to supplies across Syria’s international and internal borders.

On Monday, Assad agreed to open two additional border crossings from Turkey to reach the northwest region, in a move aimed at improving the flow of humanitarian aid to the stricken areas.

The Bab al-Salam and al-Rai crossings were to remain open for three months.

Activists said that before that, only the Bab al-Hawa crossing was authorized to deliver aid to northwestern Syria, and this is not enough to meet the needs in the areas destroyed by the earthquake.

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More