The Syrian government has announced that it agrees to send international humanitarian aid to areas controlled by anti-regime armed groups in northwest Syria, which has suffered major damage from deadly earthquakes.

In the announcement, broadcast by the official Sana news agency, the government specifies that the distribution of humanitarian aid will take place “under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent”, assisted by the UN. This will ensure that aid reaches “those who need it”.

The Cabinet accepted the delivery of humanitarian aid to the entire Syrian territory and to the zones beyond state control, the relevant announcement states.

According to state media, the government has designated the worst-hit areas (Lattakia, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib) as “affected zones” and is set to establish a fund to help repair the damage.

The UN has been calling for relief to send emergency supplies to northwest Syria, where some 4 million people were already in need of aid even before the earthquakes. Dozens of humanitarian aid planes (mainly from Russia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) have landed since Monday in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia, areas controlled by the government of Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. Yet aid to the north-western zones is sluggishly arriving from a border crossing from Turkey.

More than 3,200 people were killed in Syria by the earthquake and many thousands were injured.

Source: AMNA

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