UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced today that the organization’s humanitarian coordinator will be in Turkey and Syria this weekend, asking the Security Council for measures to facilitate aid to earthquake victims on Syrian territory.
Focusing on the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria this week, Guterres spoke to the press in New York today, insisting that the crisis must be avoided through “politicization”, at a time when “massive support” is needed for the population of the area. , noting that more allowed border crossings would increase support for residents of Idlib province and other rebel-controlled areas in Syria.
Guterres also hopes to increase aid shipments into Syria’s interior, which have been kept to a minimum due to difficulties crossing the front lines.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the United Nations (UN) had already made this appeal to the Security Council, the body that authorizes the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to provide aid from abroad to population groups in opposition areas without the intervention of the government of Damascus. . In recent years, however, Russia – the great ally of Syrian President Bashar al Asad – has forced the number of available passages to be reduced to just one – Bab al-Hawa – allowing an initial caravan of aid for the earthquake victims.
The UN leader also announced this the organization’s humanitarian coordinator, Martin Griffiths, will visit the hardest-hit areas this weekend, to assess the needs of the population and find ways to provide more assistance to those affected. According to Guterres, Griffiths will travel to Gaziantep, in Turkish territory, and to Aleppo and Damascus, in neighboring Syria.
According to the former Portuguese prime minister, the priority at the moment is to get maximum humanitarian aid and access to the most affected areas.
“It is time to explore all possible ways to bring aid and personnel to the affected areas. We must put people first,” said the UN chief.
Guterres also called on the international community to show the people of Turkey and Syria “the same generosity and support” he has shown to other refugees around the world. The Secretary-General stated that one of his priorities at the moment is to obtain more funding to expand the humanitarian response.
The United Nations has so far approved emergency first aid worth $25 million (€23.2 million) and plans to issue a new appeal to donors early next week.
The death toll from the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday exceeded 17,500, according to a new preliminary balance sheet released today by the authorities of both countries. The death toll in Turkey stands at at least 14,351, according to Turkish Vice President Fuat Otkay. In Syria, the new preliminary data confirm the deaths of at least 3,162 people.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday. It was followed by several aftershocks, one of which had a magnitude of 7.5.
Source: DN
