The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck large areas of Turkey and Syria has risen, exceeding 17,500 dead so far.
Hopes of finding survivors under the rubble are fading in extremely bad weather. Thousands of people in southern Turkey and northern Syria spent their third night in the open yesterday.
Officials and medical workers say that 14,351 people were killed in Turkey, and 3,162 people were killed in Syria as a result of a devastating earthquake that struck areas in the two countries with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale.
From opposition-controlled areas in Syria, the White Helmets appealed to the international community to provide aid in its race against time to rescue those trapped under the rubble.
A World Health Organization official warned of a “following catastrophe” that could affect more people than the earthquake victims.
It was reported that the first aid convoys destined for opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria have already crossed into those areas from Turkey.
Officials said that Idlib governorate received, through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, six trucks loaded with aid.
“The first UN relief convoys entered today,” said Mazen Alloush, a media spokesman at the crossing.
The French News Agency said that six trucks entered the Syrian regions through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, loaded with tents and health products.
Alloush said that this convoy “can be considered an initial response from the United Nations, and it will be followed by larger convoys to help our people, as promised.”
Bab al-Hawa is the only crossing through which aid can be delivered to areas under the control of the Syrian opposition without crossing into areas under the control of the Syrian government forces.
Over the past four days, shipments of relief aid destined for those Syrian regions were hampered due to damage to the roads leading to those areas, as well as logistical obstacles.
Even before the earthquake, some 4.1 million residents – mostly women and children – relied on humanitarian aid to survive.
Syria emergency response ‘must not be politicized’
Expectations of an increase in the death toll due to the presence of many bodies under the rubble in Syria and Turkey
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said that the response to the emergency situation in Syria “should not be politicized after one of the most catastrophic earthquakes in the region in nearly a hundred years.”
Since Monday, planes loaded with aid and coming from the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Iran and other countries have landed at airports under the control of the Syrian government in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia.
The European Union confirmed that it will send aid to Syria worth 3.5 million euros, after a government request for assistance.
But the union said aid should be delivered to both government and opposition-held areas.
More than 1,500 people have been killed in Idlib province alone. Buthaina Shaaban, an advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said the sanctions are preventing Damascus from receiving the aid it needs.
Buthaina added, “We do not have enough bulldozers. We do not have enough cranes. We do not have enough oil because of European and American sanctions.”
In Turkey the situation is “under control”
Criticism of Erdogan’s government for its management of the earthquake crisis
Although people were found alive under the rubble, hopes began to fade that there might be large numbers still alive.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended his government’s response, responding to criticism about poor rescue operations and not covering all affected areas.
Critics of the Turkish government said that the response of the emergency services was too slow, and that the government was not well prepared.
Erdogan acknowledged that the government had faced some problems, but said the situation was now “under control”.
But the leader of the main opposition party in Turkey, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, rejected these statements, and said: “If there is a person responsible for this, it is Erdogan.”
The president rejected the accusation, telling reporters in Hatay: “At a time like this, I cannot stand those who campaign negatively for the sake of political interest.”
