ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region has dispatched medical equipment for two coronavirus testing labs, as well as training staff, to northeast Syria on Thursday, Rudaw has learned. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), sent thanks to the President of the Kurdistan Region in a tweet for his "swift and generous response” in the provision of medical equipment for two coronavirus testing labs. According to an official from the Kurdistan Region Presidential office, the commander requested assistance for the people of northeast Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava, in a phone call made last week to President Nechirvan Barzani. President Barzani decided to send medical aid to Rojava following the phone call, dispatching equipment for two COVID-19 testing laboratories to Rojava on April 9, said the official. Two medical teams were also sent on the same day to train 26 medical lab employees there to train them on how to fully operate the labs. The Kurdish-controlled northeast is less damaged by war than other parts of Syria. But unlike Syria's rebel-held northwest, where UN aid enters via Turkey, the northeast is deprived of cross-border channels for UN medical assistance. Rojava has in recent months become increasingly reliant on Damascus for aid after Russia blocked proposals to renew the mandate for humanitarian to be routed through the border with Iraq, insisting that aid be come through Damascus, where it can be controlled and conditioned by the Syrian government. Aid groups say the move has effectively left the region under a blockade that "could lead to one of the most severe outbreaks in the world." Abdi also hailed Barzani's promise to provide them with "more medical assistance in support of our efforts to combat this pandemic." Although no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the area, measures needed to respond in case of an outbreak are scarce. Syria has so far recorded 25 cases of COVID-19, including two deaths as of Sunday morning, according to World Meters. Dr. Juwan Mustafah, co-chair of the Health Authority of Northern and Northeastern Syria, told Rudaw they have already "requested the provision of medical assistance from the WHO many times,” but have yet to receive a response. Last week, Abdul Hamid al-Mahbash, a co-chair of the Executive Body of The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" if the international community did not respond to their medical needs. Mahabash urged the the United Nations, the World Health Organization and other international organizations to provide them with the necessary medical and health equipment needed to combat the spread of the virus. The NES has already extended the Kurdish enclave’s curfew until April 21, which began on March 23.
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