UN admits aid failure for Syria as quake toll hits 33,000
Sun, 12 February 2023
The United Nations denounced Sunday the failure to deliver desperately needed aid to war-torn regions of Syria, while warning the death toll of more than 33,000 from the earthquake that also struck Turkey is set to rise far higher.
A UN convoy with supplies for northwest Syria arrived via Turkey, but the agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed.
"We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn't arrived," Griffiths said on Twitter.
Assessing the damage in southern Turkey on Saturday, when the toll stood at 28,000, Griffiths had told Sky News he expected the death toll to "double or more" as chances of finding survivors fade with every passing day.
Sun, 12 February 2023
The United Nations denounced Sunday the failure to deliver desperately needed aid to war-torn regions of Syria, while warning the death toll of more than 33,000 from the earthquake that also struck Turkey is set to rise far higher.
A UN convoy with supplies for northwest Syria arrived via Turkey, but the agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed.
"We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn't arrived," Griffiths said on Twitter.
Assessing the damage in southern Turkey on Saturday, when the toll stood at 28,000, Griffiths had told Sky News he expected the death toll to "double or more" as chances of finding survivors fade with every passing day.
Supplies have been slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have ravaged the healthcare system, and parts of the country remain under the control of rebels battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which is under Western sanctions.
A 10-truck UN convoy crossed into northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, according to an AFP correspondent, carrying shelter kits including plastic sheeting, ropes and screws and nails, as well as blankets, mattresses and carpets.
Bab al-Hawa is the only point for international aid to reach people in rebel-held areas of Syria after nearly 12 years of civil war, after other crossings were closed under pressure from China and Russia.
The World Health Organization chief met Assad in Damascus on Sunday and said the Syrian leader had voiced readiness for more border crossings to help bring aid into the rebel-held northwest.
"He was open to considering additional cross-border access points for this emergency," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
A 10-truck UN convoy crossed into northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, according to an AFP correspondent, carrying shelter kits including plastic sheeting, ropes and screws and nails, as well as blankets, mattresses and carpets.
Bab al-Hawa is the only point for international aid to reach people in rebel-held areas of Syria after nearly 12 years of civil war, after other crossings were closed under pressure from China and Russia.
The World Health Organization chief met Assad in Damascus on Sunday and said the Syrian leader had voiced readiness for more border crossings to help bring aid into the rebel-held northwest.
"He was open to considering additional cross-border access points for this emergency," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
- Set politics aside -
Assad said he looked forward to further "efficient cooperation" with the UN agency to improve the shortage in supplies, equipment and medicines, his presidency said.
UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, was also in Damascus on Sunday carrying a message to set aside politics.
"We are mobilising funding and we are trying to tell everyone to put politics aside," he said.
"This is a time to unite behind a common effort to support the Syrian people."
Assad had also thanked the United Arab Emirates for providing "huge relief and humanitarian aid" with pledges of tens of millions of dollars in aid as well.
But security concerns prompted the suspension of some rescue operations, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, according to state media.
An Israeli emergency relief organisation said Sunday it had suspended its earthquake rescue operation in Turkey and returned home because of a "significant" security threat to its staff.
Assad said he looked forward to further "efficient cooperation" with the UN agency to improve the shortage in supplies, equipment and medicines, his presidency said.
UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, was also in Damascus on Sunday carrying a message to set aside politics.
"We are mobilising funding and we are trying to tell everyone to put politics aside," he said.
"This is a time to unite behind a common effort to support the Syrian people."
Assad had also thanked the United Arab Emirates for providing "huge relief and humanitarian aid" with pledges of tens of millions of dollars in aid as well.
But security concerns prompted the suspension of some rescue operations, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, according to state media.
An Israeli emergency relief organisation said Sunday it had suspended its earthquake rescue operation in Turkey and returned home because of a "significant" security threat to its staff.
- Miraculous tles -
Miraculous tales of survival still emerged, though experts caution that hopes for finding people alive in the devastation dim with each passing day.
Almost 160 hours after the quake, several more people were rescued, including an eight-year-old boy in Gaziantep, and a 63-year-old woman in Hatay, state media reported.
The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the WHO said as it appealed Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs after dozens of hospitals were damaged.
Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts, along with 8,294 international rescuers.
But, in many areas, rescue teams said they lacked sensors and other advanced search equipment, leaving them reduced to carefully digging through the rubble with shovels or only their hands.
"If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, if not more," said Alaa Moubarak, head of civil defence in Jableh, northwest Syria.
Miraculous tales of survival still emerged, though experts caution that hopes for finding people alive in the devastation dim with each passing day.
Almost 160 hours after the quake, several more people were rescued, including an eight-year-old boy in Gaziantep, and a 63-year-old woman in Hatay, state media reported.
The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000 people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. In Syria alone, up to 5.3 million people may have been made homeless.
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the WHO said as it appealed Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs after dozens of hospitals were damaged.
Turkey's disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organisations are working on search-and-rescue efforts, along with 8,294 international rescuers.
But, in many areas, rescue teams said they lacked sensors and other advanced search equipment, leaving them reduced to carefully digging through the rubble with shovels or only their hands.
"If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, if not more," said Alaa Moubarak, head of civil defence in Jableh, northwest Syria.
- Anger grows -
Syria's transport ministry has said 62 aid planes had landed in Syria this week with more on the way in coming days, in particular from Saudi Arabia.
After days of grief and anguish, anger in Turkey has been growing over the poor quality of buildings as well as the government's response to the country's worst disaster in nearly a century.
Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in the earthquake.
Three people were put behind bars by Sunday and seven more have been detained -- including two developers who were trying to relocate to the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Officials and medics said 29,605 people had died in Turkey and 3,581 in Syria from last Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake, bringing the confirmed total to 33,186.
Lebanon's Hezbollah sends aid to Syria's quake-hit Latakia
Issued on: 12/02/2023 -
Issued on: 12/02/2023 -
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid provided by Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah set out for Syria on February 12 in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake
© ANWAR AMRO / AFP
Beirut (AFP) – Lebanon's powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah sent Sunday a convoy of 23 trucks carrying food and medical aid to Syria's quake-stricken province of Latakia, a stronghold of the group's allies.
"This the moment of support, the moment of assistance," senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine told reporters in Lebanon's capital Beirut.
It comes six days after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 33,000 people in total, including over 3,500 in Syria.
Latakia, located in Syria's northwestern region, is a stronghold for President Bashar al-Assad.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah is a key ally of Assad's regime and has openly been fighting alongside his forces since April 2013.
Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian conflict has helped tip the scales in favour of Assad on many fronts.
Adnan Moqadem, general director of civil defence in Hezbollah's health authority, said this first convoy "will be followed by others".
The convoy, carrying "food, health and household supplies", will be delivered to the Red Crescent and Syrian officials, Moqadem said.
The trucks carried banners marked with both the Syrian flag and of Hezbollah.
Lebanon has adopted a policy of dissociation from Syria's years-long war but on Wednesday, it sent its first high-level official delegation and rescue team to Damascus since the start of the conflict.
The delegation met with Assad and expressed readiness to open Lebanon's air and sea ports to help send aid to Syria.
On Saturday, two Italian planes arrived at Beirut airport, carrying medical aid to be sent to Syria.
© 2023 AFP
Beirut (AFP) – Lebanon's powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah sent Sunday a convoy of 23 trucks carrying food and medical aid to Syria's quake-stricken province of Latakia, a stronghold of the group's allies.
"This the moment of support, the moment of assistance," senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine told reporters in Lebanon's capital Beirut.
It comes six days after a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 33,000 people in total, including over 3,500 in Syria.
Latakia, located in Syria's northwestern region, is a stronghold for President Bashar al-Assad.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah is a key ally of Assad's regime and has openly been fighting alongside his forces since April 2013.
Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian conflict has helped tip the scales in favour of Assad on many fronts.
Adnan Moqadem, general director of civil defence in Hezbollah's health authority, said this first convoy "will be followed by others".
The convoy, carrying "food, health and household supplies", will be delivered to the Red Crescent and Syrian officials, Moqadem said.
The trucks carried banners marked with both the Syrian flag and of Hezbollah.
Lebanon has adopted a policy of dissociation from Syria's years-long war but on Wednesday, it sent its first high-level official delegation and rescue team to Damascus since the start of the conflict.
The delegation met with Assad and expressed readiness to open Lebanon's air and sea ports to help send aid to Syria.
On Saturday, two Italian planes arrived at Beirut airport, carrying medical aid to be sent to Syria.
© 2023 AFP
A young resident of a still standing building watches continuing search operations in the Syrian government-controlled town of Jableh - Karim SAHIB
by Hashem Osseiran
February 12, 2023 — Jableh (Syria) (AFP)
As Syria's earthquake rescue efforts near the one week mark, an unsettling silence blankets the area as a search dog sniffs around a flattened home in the coastal town of Jableh.
It has been hours since the last rescue, when two people were pulled from the rubble by rescuers with only the most basic equipment.
"There is no hope" for survivors, said Alaa Moubarak, the head of Jableh's civil defence.
"Even so, with every step, we stop and scream: is anyone alive?"
The canine trained to detect life circles the area for 30 minutes and trots back without a single bark.
There are no more survivors.
This scene plays out almost daily in Jableh, where the hopes of finding anyone alive under the rubble are quickly vanishing amid a lack of resources.
Of the 52 residents of the five-storey building being searched, only 14 have made it out alive.
February 12, 2023 — Jableh (Syria) (AFP)
As Syria's earthquake rescue efforts near the one week mark, an unsettling silence blankets the area as a search dog sniffs around a flattened home in the coastal town of Jableh.
It has been hours since the last rescue, when two people were pulled from the rubble by rescuers with only the most basic equipment.
"There is no hope" for survivors, said Alaa Moubarak, the head of Jableh's civil defence.
"Even so, with every step, we stop and scream: is anyone alive?"
The canine trained to detect life circles the area for 30 minutes and trots back without a single bark.
There are no more survivors.
This scene plays out almost daily in Jableh, where the hopes of finding anyone alive under the rubble are quickly vanishing amid a lack of resources.
Of the 52 residents of the five-storey building being searched, only 14 have made it out alive.
They include a woman and her young son who were lifted from beneath the rubble Friday to a jubilant crowd that held out hopes that more could still be alive beneath the building.
The woman died en route to the hospital.
Jableh is located in Latakia, a province largely under government control and one of the worst hit by the earthquake.
Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake that struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Syrian border, killed more than 28,000 people, including at least 3,574 in Syria.
In Latakia province alone, the quake has killed at least 638 people, according to local authorities.
- 'Manual labour' -
The canine scavenging the rubble on Saturday is only one of a handful available in the region.
It was flown in by a 42-member search and rescue team from the United Arab Emirates, equipped with sensors, search cameras, special drills and fuel containers.
"If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, if not more," said Moubarak.
Other teams on the ground lack the means and advanced search equipment, often digging with nothing but their hands or shovels.
"For 12 years we have not received new equipment... 90 percent of our stock is out of service," said Moubarak.
Depleted by war, Syria lacks the most basic resources, let alone search and rescue equipment.
A punishing energy crisis means the country can barely provide electricity and fuel for cars, forcing international rescue teams to source their own stock as part of planning efforts.
At the foot of another flattened building around 500 metres (1,640 feet) away, a construction engineer affiliated with Syria's defence ministry echoed similar concerns.
"We don't have any modern high-tech devices... like those that detect openings, or equipment for rescue and communications," said the man, who asked not be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
"Our work can mainly be described as manual labour."
- 'Still a chance' -
In Jableh's dense neighbourhoods, hundreds of spectators gather at every search site, crowding around rescue teams to provide information on which victims are still unaccounted for.
Some watch from windowsills so close to the destruction that they could reach out and scoop up the debris in their hands.
The rescue dogs often run in their direction, identifying them as the closest living body.
Mohammad al-Hamadi watched from the pavement as the Emirati team dug through what was once his residence, now reduced to shreds of concrete.
The 23-year-old -- who had to be carried into the search and rescue zone because the quake nearly crushed his right leg -- is the sole survivor of his family.
Both his parents and his brother, who was sleeping in bed beside him, all lost their lives in the tragedy.
"The building caved over our heads. I was completely buried," he said, adding that only his finger poked through the concrete chunks.
"They had to lift me by the finger."
Nearby, Colonel Hamad al-Kaabi, the head of the Emirati rescue force, said the chance of finding survivors at this point was so slim that emergency teams were permitted to use excavators and heavy machinery to clear the rubble.
"We are in stage four, which is an advanced stage of rescue operations, with most survivors already pulled out," he said.
"But there is still a chance to find survivors."
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