Terror Group Prevents Aid Delivery to Quake-Stricken Region in Northern Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United Nations (UN) said the anti-government group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), designated as a terrorist organization by the international community, is blocking aid shipments from reaching areas affected by the earthquake in northern Syria.
"There were issues with approval" from the group, said a spokesman for the UN's humanitarian aid office. The territory in northern Syria currently under HTS control has seen little relief aid as front lines with the government have been sealed by the terrorist group, despite the Syrian government's willingness to send aid to the region.
An anonymous source from HTS confirmed to Reuters that the group will not allow shipments from government-held parts of Syria, claiming that they "won't allow the regime to take advantage of the situation to show they are helping."
The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last Monday has reached nearly 33,000, with most fatalities in Syria occurring in the territory held by Takfiri terrorist groups.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths expressed regret over the UN's failure to adequately assist those affected by the quake. "We have so far failed the people in north-west Syria. They rightly feel abandoned," he tweeted. "My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure as fast as we can."
UN Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen arrived in Damascus and called for "all the access we can have" and more resources to support the Syrian people, encouraging countries to "put politics aside" during this time of crisis.
Idlib Province and its surrounding territories are primarily controlled by the HTS terror group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front and affiliated with al-Qaeda until 2016.
