AFP
UN admits aid to Syria has failed as earthquake count reaches 33,000
The United Nations on Sunday denounced the failure to deliver much-needed aid to Syria’s war-torn regions, while warning that the death toll of more than 33,000 from the earthquake that also hit Turkey will be much higher. to rise. A UN convoy carrying supplies for northwestern Syria arrived via Turkey, but the agency’s deputy chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes had been destroyed. “We have failed the people of northwestern Syria so far,” Griffiths said on Twitter. Assessing the damage in southern Turkey on Saturday, when the toll reached 28,000, Griffiths had told Sky News he expected the death toll to double or more “as the chances of finding survivors are fading by the day.” supplies are slow to arrive in Syria, where years of conflict have devastated the healthcare system, and parts of the country are still under the control of rebels battling against President Bas har al-Assad’s government, which is under Western sanctions. convoy of 10 trucks entered northwestern Syria through 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. only point where international aid can reach people in rebel-held areas of Syria after nearly 12 years of civil war, after other border 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 expressed readiness for more border crossings to deliver aid in the rebel-held northwest. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. Politically aside, Assad said he looks forward to further “efficient cooperation” with the UN agency to ameliorate the shortage of supplies, equipment and medicines, his presi deency said. UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, was also in Damascus on Sunday with a message to put politics aside. “We are mobilizing funds and we are trying to tell everyone to put politics aside,” he said. a time to unite behind a common effort to support the Syrian people.” Assad had also thanked the United Arab Emirates for providing “massive relief and humanitarian assistance” with pledges of tens of millions of dollars in aid. Some rescue operations have been suspended and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or attempting to defraud victims in the aftermath of Turkey’s earthquake An Israeli emergency agency said on Sunday it had suspended its earthquake rescue operation in Turkey and was returning home due to a “significant” security threat to personnel. – Miraculous stories – Miraculous survival stories continued to emerge, though experts warn there is hope of finding people alive in the devastation. earthquake became several more people 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 in Turkey and Syria are in urgent need of hot meals. Up to 5.3 million people may have been left homeless in Syria alone. Nearly 26 million people have been affected by the quake, the WHO said, calling on Saturday for $42.8 million to meet immediate health needs after dozens of hospitals were damaged. disaster agency said more than 32,000 people from Turkish organizations are working on search and rescue, along with 8,294 international rescue workers. But in many areas, rescue teams said they lacked sensors and other sophisticated search equipment, limiting them to carefully digging through the rubble with shovels or just their hands. “If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, if not more,” said Alaa Moubarak, chief of civil defense in Jableh, northwestern Syria. – Anger is growing – The Syrian transport ministry has said 62 aid planes have landed in Syria this week and more are on their way in the coming days, particularly from Saudi Arabia. After days of grief and fear, anger has mounted in Turkey over the poor quality of buildings and the government’s response to the country’s worst disaster in nearly a century. Officials say 12,141 buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged by the quake. Three people were put behind bars on Sunday and seven others were detained – including two developers who tried to relocate to the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Officials and medics said 29,605 people had been killed in Turkey and 3,581 in Syria from Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake, bringing the confirmed total to 33,186.burs-bp /fb