As if the size of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit part of Syria earlier this week, killing more than 3,300 people, was not enough, political instability in the country has made sending humanitarian aid and rescuing victims even more challenging.
As in also devastated Turkey – where the death count already exceeds 18,000 – the population has complained of a slow response from the Bashar al-Assad regime, which controlled between 65% and 70% of the country in 2021, according to a report. of Chatham House that year.
The dictator made his first public appearance since the disaster this Friday (10), four days after the first tremors, to visit some of the affected areas and hospitals caring for victims in Aleppo, in the north of the country.
The situation is worse, however, in the northwest of the territory, dominated by rebels and one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. Even before the event, it was estimated that around 4.1 million people in the place already depended on donations from abroad.
The UN was only able to send the first six truckloads of humanitarian aid to the region on Thursday, more than 72 hours after the first tremors. This Friday, the immigration agency, IOM, said that another 14 vehicles crossed the border with Turkey.
“These convoys carry electric heaters, tents, blankets and other items to help those left homeless by this catastrophic earthquake,” said organization spokesman Paul Dillon.
White Helmets volunteers say, however, that UN aid is insufficient and that heavy equipment for search and rescue operations is still needed in places where people are still buried. They claim that rescuers have resorted to simple tools and old cranes, inadequate for the size of the disaster.
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