The United Nations, which this Thursday carried out the first humanitarian shipment to earthquake-hit areas in northwestern Syria, warns that “aid should not be politicized,” referring to areas controlled by the opposition to Damascus.
“We have guarantees that we can succeed for the first time [desde o tremor de terra de segunda-feira]humanitarian help”via Bab al-Hawaa, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told a brief press conference in Geneva.
The same official, who is organizing the shipment of the first six humanitarian aid vehicles to the earthquake-hit population in northwest Syria, warned that emergency aid “should not be politicised”.
Geir Pedersen spoke just before the column of vehicles entered Syrian territory.
According to the agency France Presse, the humanitarian convoy of six vehicles has already passed the border crossing between Turkey and northern Syria.
The Syrian areas affected by Monday’s earthquakes are mainly areas controlled by the opposition and Islamist extremist groups.
In the same region, marked by the war that has been going on since 2011, more than four million internally displaced persons and refugees live in tents.
The toll from the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday exceeds 16,000 deaths, authorities and medical sources said today.
At least 12,873 people died in Turkey and 3,162 in Syria, the same sources said, bringing the total number of fatalities to 16,035, as operations continue in extreme cold to try to find survivors.
The strongest earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck southeastern Turkey and neighboring northern Syria and was followed by several aftershocks, one of which measured 7.5.
Source: DN
