The first UN aid convoy arrives in the earthquake-stricken Northwest of Syria after the disaster
“Aid, life-saving aid, is essential for civilians wherever they are regardless of borders and boundaries,” he told journalists in Geneva. “We need it urgently, through the fastest, most direct and most efficient routes. They need more than everything.”
According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHAsix trucks carrying “non-food shelter items and kits, including blankets and hygiene kits” arrived at Bab al-Hawa on Thursday, the Security Council’s sole border crossing point. The United Nations is authorized to deliver aid.
He urged the reaction is not politicized and focuses on “the people we can still save”.
The Call of the Special Envoy followed by a warning from UN humanitarian agencies on Wednesday that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the country – assessed at a staggering 15.3 million before the earthquake disaster – will have to be adjusted upwards. go up.
Unity on humanitarian needs
“We need to do everything we can to ensure that there are no obstacles to delay the necessary life-saving assistance in Syria,” continued Pedersen after chairing a meeting of the Humanitarian Task Force for Syria. , the agency that facilitates the delivery of aid to the war-torn country. nation. “I was impressed by the unity in the meeting we were there today by all the different Member States that have joined,” he added.
When asked if it is time to lift some sanctions on Syria to ensure that aid can reach those in need, the Special Envoy replied that he had discussed this point. “especially with representatives from the United States and the European Union and they assure me that they will do whatever they can to make sure there are no obstacles to support to Syria to help in this operation.”
Food is distributed to people evacuated after the earthquake in Aleppo, Syria.
Survival window
In the areas affected by the double earthquake tragedy, rescuers continued to pull more people alive from the rubble, but The chances of finding trapped survivors are rapidly decreasing.
Humanitarians explain that the first 72 hours will always be critical after an initial 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Gaziantep, Türkiye early Monday morning, followed by a magnitude 7 earthquake. Another 5 on the Richter scale a few hours later.
Total confirmed deaths in Syria and Türkiye is now more than 17,000 people. With more victims expected, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria demanded “access and resources irrespective of borders and boundaries”.
He added: “The death toll continues to rise as we speak in both countries and there are still too many people lying under the rubble in the freezing cold.. The quake comes as the humanitarian crisis in northwest Syria is worsening, with demand at its highest level since the conflict began.”
Tragedy of war
Nearly 12 years after Syria’s brutal civil war, the country faces massive economic hardship and one of the world’s biggest migration crises. Before the earthquake and based on assessments, the United Nations calculated that more than four million people in northwestern Syria depended solely on cross-border aid.
Syria is divided into regions under the control of the Syrian government, opposition forces and other armed groups. The government and opposition sectors were hit hard by the quake.
“We need support to get into the northwest, we need support to get into government controlled areas that have been hit hard. Aleppo and Hama …and we know that some support has reached the airports in Aleppo and also Damascus,” Mr. Pedersen said.
In all affected areas of Syria, humanitarian organizations have reported an urgent need for logistics, skilled rescue teams and temporary shelter. The United Nations is helping to mobilize emergency teams and relief operations, and many countries have offered assistance.
Turkish activities
More than 100 Urban Search and Rescue Teams are currently working in areas of Türkiye affected by the disaster, United Nations Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during a press conference with reporters in New York. He said the Government had requested the deployment of two United Nations Disaster and Assessment Coordination Groups (UNDACs), with a total of 50 members, for deployment to Gaziantep and four centers in the disaster area.
Dujarric said another UNDAC team has also been deployed to the Turkish capital Ankara, while a separate team is en route to Syria to assist with the response there, which will travel through Lebanon.
