Last Monday’s “disaster of the century” induced additional devastation for an already embattled area, as a staggering 171,843 individuals have been left homeless within the northwest of Syria as a consequence of southeast Türkiye’s Kahramanmaraş-centered twin earthquakes, in accordance with a Syrian humanitarian group’s report.
However, a much-welcomed respite has seemingly come for Syria, as 140 vans loaded with urgently wanted help have crossed over into opposition-held northwestern Syria from Türkiye, in accordance with an announcement from the United Nations on Friday.
Thursday’s assertion by the Syria Response Coordination, mentioned, “The U.N. aid is still within the minimum limits, where only 114 trucks have reached in one week, 93% of which came through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, despite the opening of two additional crossings.”
The group had spoken of “general dissatisfaction in the region with the delay in the arrival of humanitarian aid from the U.N.,” noting that the U.N. help “did not exceed 25% of the total aid that entered northwestern Syria.”
The group criticized “the great politicization” of incoming humanitarian help, particularly worldwide, in addition to the directing of huge quantities of aid to regime-controlled areas, which obtained “90% of the aid for the victims of the earthquake.”
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the U.N. Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) humanitarian company, in Geneva on Friday mentioned, “Since Feb. 9 up to last night, we had a total of 143 trucks going through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salama border crossings,”
“The movements continue today. They continue over the weekend and will continue every day for as long as the needs are there.”
Eleven days after the quake that killed greater than 41,000 individuals in Türkiye and Syria, the scenario in Syria’s opposition-held northwest stays dire because of the gradual arrival of help to a area ravaged by years of battle.
Before the earthquake struck, virtually all of the essential humanitarian help for the greater than 4 million individuals residing there was delivered by means of only one crossing, Bab al-Hawa.
Operations there have been briefly disrupted by the quake injury.
It took 4 days to get help shifting throughout that border crossing once more, and earlier this week, Damascus agreed to permit the U.N. to open two additional border crossings to assist deliver in additional help.
“We expect to have trucks crossing every single day,” Laerke mentioned.
So far, help has flowed by means of the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salama crossings however no vans have gone by means of the third crossing, Al Raee, he mentioned.
“That doesn’t mean that it is not going to come, but it is a bit further away from the hub and the U.N. monitoring mechanism that is inspecting all of the aid that is coming through,” he mentioned.
Laerke mentioned the vans which have crossed for the reason that quake have been carrying “a multitude of aid” from six U.N. companies: the International Organization for Migration, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.N. Population Fund, the U.N. youngsters’s company UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Aid has so far included tents, non-food items, such as mattresses and blankets, winter clothes, cholera testing kits, essential medicines and World Food Programme food,” he mentioned.
UAE help
On the opposite hand, aid planes proceed to be despatched from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to offer much-needed help to the survivors of the devastating earthquakes.
A complete of 91 cargo planes have taken off as far as a part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 2, the Emirati Defense Ministry introduced on Twitter.
The ministry said that 2,549 tons of humanitarian help have been despatched amid ongoing aid efforts for the victims of the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
On Thursday, the Emirati WAM news company mentioned 78 aid planes had been despatched, together with 44 cargo planes to Syria and 34 to Türkiye, including that these planes carried 2,107 tons of meals and medical provides and tents.
The magnitude 7.7 and seven.6 tremors final week that ravaged southern Türkiye, impacting a bigger space and over 13 million inhabitants, have been described because the worst in trendy historical past.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
