Chaos and political negotiations have delayed the arrival of emergency aid to these territories devastated by the earthquake of February 6.
by Laure Stephan ( Beirut, correspondence)
The United Nations humanitarian aid intended for the survivors of the earthquake in northwestern Syria, a border region of Turkey devastated by the terrifying tremors of February 6, begins to be put in place. Tuesday, February 14, UN convoys were able to cross two crossing points from the Turkish-Syrian border: Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salamah. In July 2020, under pressure from Moscow, ally of Damascus, the latter corridor had been closed to UN operations, which, since that date, could only use the Bab al-Hawa terminal.
North-west Syrian control is fragmented between various anti-Assad factions. Bab al-Salamah connects Turkey to the border band held by insurgent groups affiliated with Ankara. Localities, like Jandairis, were hard there by the earthquake. Residents sleep under improvised tents, in icy temperatures. The first convoy, organized Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration, included covers and tents. Bab al-Hawa, operational since February 9, leads to the Idlib region, run by the radicals of Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTC), an old branch of Al-Qaida. With the use of these two crossing points and a third planned at the level of the locality of Al -Raï -where on Tuesday, commercial traffic, but no international convoys -, the United Nations intends to increase their Help deliveries.
“We all know that the aid has not reached the necessary speed and scale,” said his secretary general, Antonio Guterres, Tuesday, at the same time as he launched a call to donations from Almost $ 400 million (373 million euros) for the whole of Syria. These must cover the needs for three months. “We are doing everything possible to change this,” added Mr. Guterres.
rescuers left to themselves
In the rebellious northwest, the Syrian territory where the earthquake caused the most dead (several thousand) and destruction, local rescuers were delivered to themselves during the first three days following the shock, period crucial to find the survivors. The first UN convoy, who arrived on Thursday, had no food.
If the aid was so long in order to be transported to these areas, it is partly due to chaos and destruction in Turkey, which slowed down the organization and the displacement of convoys. But, to unlock the situation, it also took political negotiations. The earthquake exposed the past helplessness of the UN to Russia, which, by means of its veto the security council, had restricted cross -border humanitarian traffic at a single crossing point. It is thanks to an agreement between the United Nations and Damascus, announced on Monday by the UN, that the opening of two additional corridors was made possible. This breakthrough occurred when the Security Council met on the subject.
You have 59.01% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.