A newly unblocked crossing point has allowed the first UN assistance cargo to enter rebel-held northwest Syria, which was ravaged by last week’s earthquake.
The United Nations said that on Tuesday, 11 vehicles left Turkish soils at Bab al-Salameh. After last week’s earthquakes, which are believed to have killed more than 41,000 people in Turkey and Syria, many Syrian nationals are incensed by the paucity of relief for the country, which is wracked by civil conflict, especially to rebel regions.
Two days ago, the UN and the Syrian government agreed to utilize two more checkpoints. The second one is also near the Turkish border at al-Rai. The crossings would first be available for three months, according to the UN.
On February 6, at the crack of dawn, two strong earthquakes shook the neighboring Turkey’s southeast. Finding any other people alive is becoming less likely. Soon after the tremor, nations with cordial ties to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, like as Russia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, started shipping essentials to multiple regions of Syria.
Nevertheless, until Thursday, the UN had not sent any relief through Turkey to the opposition-controlled north-west. Over four million people already needed assistance to thrive.
Destruction to the major roads to the Bab al-Hawa crossing, which up until now was the sole land route the UN Security Council had authorized it to use, was attributed to the UN by this organization. There will be no prejudice over who receives help, stressed Bassam al-Sabbagh, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, in remarks to media.
One Week after Earthquake
The ambassador atributed the delay in releasing further assistance channels on what he called the terrorist group” which dominates the north-west.
Separately, a health official has relocated an orphaned Syrian infant who was born amid the debris of her destroyed house during last week’s earthquake to a “safe area.”
According to a source who spoke to the BBC, the Afrin Health Directorate took the precautionary move to save the daughter, Aya, from potential hazards.
She was receiving medical care at a hospital in the area controlled by the opposition when there was a violent confrontation there. The supervisor allegedly received physical abuse from a male nurse and two armed guys.
The Syrian people are dissatisfied with the extent of international assistance coming from relevant agencies. More than a week after the deadly earthquake, the UN’s first cargo means nothing for Syrians more than a gift for foiling the criticism. Syrian people find US sanctions as the main obstacle to access help from neighboring nations.
