The lack of security guarantees complicates the work of Russian humanitarian missions in some Syrian regions. This was announced on Monday, February 13, by the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria (CPVS), Major General Oleg Yegorov.
“Providing assistance to the victims of the earthquake, who are in a catastrophic situation, is difficult due to the lack of security guarantees in the territories controlled by illegal armed groups,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to Yegorov, Russian military personnel are actively helping to eliminate the consequences of earthquakes in the provinces of Latakia, Aleppo and Hama. Thanks to the participation of the Russian Federation, over the past days, 321 Syrians received medical assistance, and more than 60 tons of humanitarian goods were delivered: food kits and essentials.
Earlier, on February 8, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called the situation in the republic after the earthquake catastrophic. He assured that everything would be done to restore the districts and help people.
At the same time, the Syrian Minister of Local Self-Government and the Environment, Hussein Makhlouf, expressed gratitude to the states that provided assistance to Syria, including Russia.
On the night of February 6, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck Turkey. The epicenter of the disaster was the Pazarchik district in Kahramanmarash. Turkey’s earthquake death toll rose to 31,643 as of February 13. In addition, it is noted that 158,165 disaster victims were evacuated to other provinces from areas affected by the earthquake.
The natural disaster also affected neighboring Syria. The World Health Organization (WHO) on February 12 announced the death of more than 8.5 thousand people in Syria.
Currently, Russian rescuers are working in both Turkey and Syria to help search for survivors and eliminate the consequences of the earthquake. In particular, on February 7, they found a living man under the rubble in the Syrian city of Jable. He stayed under the rubble for two days.