The first UN aid convoy has entered through a reopened border crossing into rebel-held north-western Syria, devastated by last week’s earthquake.
“First UN Aid Convoy Crosses New Border Route to Reach Quake-Hit Syria
After last week’s devastating earthquakes, which have claimed over 41,000 lives in Turkey and Syria, Syrians are desperate for aid, particularly in rebel-held areas. On Tuesday, the United Nations sent 11 lorries through the Bab al-Salameh crossing on the Turkish border to provide assistance to those in need. The UN and Syria’s government have agreed to use two more crossings, including al-Rai, also on the Turkish border, for the next three months.
However, hopes of finding more survivors in the aftermath of the quakes are dwindling, and the opposition-controlled north-west, where over 4.1 million people depended on humanitarian aid before the disaster, had received no UN aid deliveries via Turkey until last Thursday. Meanwhile, countries with friendly relations to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, such as Russia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, have already begun flying supplies to government-controlled areas of Syria.”
The UN blamed damage to roads leading to the Bab al-Hawa crossing, which until now was the the only land route the UN Security Council has authorised it to use.
On Tuesday, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bassam al-Sabbagh, told the BBC’s Radio 4’s World Tonight programme that there would be be no discrimination over who was getting relief aid.
And he blamed the delay in opening more aid routes on what he called the “terrorist opposition” which controls the north-west.
In a separate development, on Monday night gunmen stormed a Syrian hospital caring for a baby girl who was born under the rubble of her family’s earthquake-shattered home, a hospital official was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
The official said the attackers beat the facility’s director – but denied reports on social media that they had sought to kidnap the baby named Aya.
“Miracle Baby Aya, Born Under Quake-Rubble, Finds Thousands of Adoption Offers
In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit the north-western town of Jindayris, a baby girl was born under the rubble of a collapsed building, still attached to her mother by her umbilical cord. Aya, which means “miracle” in Arabic, lost her mother, father, and all four of her siblings in the quake.
Since her rescue, thousands of people have offered to adopt Aya, moved by her incredible story of survival. Despite the tragedy that befell her family, Aya has become a symbol of hope for many, reminding us of the resilience of the human spirit even in the face of unimaginable loss.”
