Syria
Members of the White Helmets rescue group continue rescue operations amid difficult circumstances in northwest Syria on February 8, 2023. Photo: The White Helmets/Twitter
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations on Thursday urged for aid to the quake-hit regions of Syria not to be politicized, with neighboring Turkey receiving the lion’s share of aid in contrast to the sanctions-hit country despite thousands of casualties.
“Emergency response must not be politicized,” Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva.
Pedersen said that crucial aid must be delivered to regime-held areas as well as the rebel-held northwest.
A catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey on Monday dawn, with its epicenter in the city of Kahramanmaras. The tremor’s devastating impact also struck neighboring Syria, where more than 3,142 people have been killed in the quake and countless others have been injured and turned homeless in frigid conditions overnight.
The total death toll between both countries stands at nearly 17,500.
In regime-controlled Syria, heavy sanctions render the ease of aid supply to the country especially difficult, with international organizations seeking to ensure that aid is diverted away from government hands.
“We need to do everything to make sure that there are no impediments whatsoever to the life-saving support that is needed in Syria,” Pedersen said.
Aid to areas outside of regime control has traditionally been delivered from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa cross-border aid mechanism, but the route has been dealt heavy damage by the earthquake, making the delivery of crucial supplies difficult.
Calls to temporarily lift sanctions on regime-held areas have surfaced since the tremor struck in order to ensure the arrival of aid.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said that Damascus requested aid from the EU for the first time.
Syrian Arab Red Crescent head Khaled Hboubati said during a press conference on Tuesday that they were ready to dispatch relief to all areas of Syria and called for the European Union to lift sanctions on Syria. However, the international community so far has held its ground with regard to sanctions.
Heavy sanctions are in place on the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, with the most recent being slammed through the US’ Caesar Act in 2020.
As time continues to pass and more bodies are uncovered from the rubble than survivors, hope is fading for rescuing survivors of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey amid bitterly cold temperatures. The 72-hour mark that experts consider the optimal period to save lives has passed.
“Emergency response must not be politicized,” Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva.
Pedersen said that crucial aid must be delivered to regime-held areas as well as the rebel-held northwest.
A catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey on Monday dawn, with its epicenter in the city of Kahramanmaras. The tremor’s devastating impact also struck neighboring Syria, where more than 3,142 people have been killed in the quake and countless others have been injured and turned homeless in frigid conditions overnight.
The total death toll between both countries stands at nearly 17,500.
In regime-controlled Syria, heavy sanctions render the ease of aid supply to the country especially difficult, with international organizations seeking to ensure that aid is diverted away from government hands.
“We need to do everything to make sure that there are no impediments whatsoever to the life-saving support that is needed in Syria,” Pedersen said.
The devastation from the earthquake is unimaginable. I appeal for all politics to be put aside to make sure that #Syrians urgently receive critical life-saving support they desperately need now, wherever they live, through the fastest routes. The window is closing rapidly.
— Geir O. Pedersen (@GeirOPedersen) February 8, 2023
Aid to areas outside of regime control has traditionally been delivered from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa cross-border aid mechanism, but the route has been dealt heavy damage by the earthquake, making the delivery of crucial supplies difficult.
Calls to temporarily lift sanctions on regime-held areas have surfaced since the tremor struck in order to ensure the arrival of aid.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said that Damascus requested aid from the EU for the first time.
Syrian Arab Red Crescent head Khaled Hboubati said during a press conference on Tuesday that they were ready to dispatch relief to all areas of Syria and called for the European Union to lift sanctions on Syria. However, the international community so far has held its ground with regard to sanctions.
Heavy sanctions are in place on the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, with the most recent being slammed through the US’ Caesar Act in 2020.
As time continues to pass and more bodies are uncovered from the rubble than survivors, hope is fading for rescuing survivors of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey amid bitterly cold temperatures. The 72-hour mark that experts consider the optimal period to save lives has passed.
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