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UN aid convoy reaches northwest Syria days after deadly earthquakes

While the crossing itself was not affected by the quake, the road leading to it was damaged, temporarily disrupting operations, a UN spokesman said.

AFP

The aid delivery mechanism from Türkiye into opposition-held Syria through the Bab al Hawa crossing is the only way UN assistance can reach civilians without passing through areas controlled by Syrian government forces.

An aid convoy has reached opposition-held northwestern Syria, the first since a devastating earthquake that has killed thousands, an official at the Bab al Hawa border crossing said.

The 7.7-magnitude quake early Monday has killed more than 19,000 people in Türkiye and war-ravaged Syria, according to officials and medics in the two countries, flattening entire neighbourhoods.

"The first UN aid convoy entered today," said Mazen Alloush, media officer at the crossing.

Alloush noted the delivery had been expected before Monday's quake, but said: "It could be considered an initial response from the United Nations, and it should be followed, as we were promised, with bigger convoys to help our people."

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement the delivery includes blankets, mattresses, tents and "basic relief items... to cover the needs of at least 500 people".

"We are working very closely with authorities to support in any way we can and hope that aid will quickly reach those most impacted," said IOM head Antonio Vitorino.

While the crossing itself was not affected by the quake, the road leading to it was damaged, temporarily disrupting operations, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

Rescuers pull newborn baby alive from rubble in northern Syria, after finding her still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in massive quakes that hit Türkiye and Syria; infant is sole survivor of her immediate family https://t.co/SmlJeFRVmG pic.twitter.com/ygRjAB4wkf
— TRT World (@trtworld) February 8, 2023

'Race against time'

UN special envoy Geir Pederson said Thursday that the emergency response in Syria should "not be politicised" following "one of the most catastrophic earthquakes the region has seen in about a century".

He told reporters in Geneva that the UN had been "assured today that we would be able to get through the first assistance today".

Planes carrying aid from the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Iran and other countries have landed since Monday in Syrian government-controlled airports in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia.

Rescuers have been searching for survivors still trapped under rubble. The White Helmets rescue group, operating in opposition-held areas of Syria, have appealed for international help in the "race against time".

The UN's resident Syria coordinator El Mostafa Benlamlih told AFP on Wednesday that no fresh deliveries of humanitarian aid have been sent to the opposition-held northwest from within Syria in about three weeks.

He said the UN has some stocks in the area -enough to feed 100,000 people for one week.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies