Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, Deputy Head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria (CPVS), said on February 16 that the active phase of the rescue operation to search for victims of the earthquake in the republic was completed.
“To date, the active phase of the rescue operation to search for victims has been completed. The rubble is being cleared using engineering equipment, the bodies of the dead are being removed, and humanitarian and medical assistance is being provided to the population,” Gurinov said during the briefing.
In addition, he said that, according to the Ministry of Health of the Arab Republic, the death toll from the earthquake in the government-controlled part of Syria was 3,513 people, 7,396 were injured. In addition, more than 1,520 buildings were destroyed, of which 611 were completely destroyed. In this regard, more than 45 thousand people were left homeless.
Earlier in the day, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said prompt assistance from friendly countries had softened the effects of the earthquake. According to him, the territory of the republic was not considered a seismically dangerous zone for a century, therefore it was not prepared for such an impact of the elements.
The day before, the Russian military in Syria distributed 2.7 tons of humanitarian aid to the population of Aleppo during two humanitarian actions.
Earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred on February 6 in the province of Kahramanmarash in southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria.
Syrian Health Minister Hassan Mohammed al-Ghabash said on February 14 that the final death toll in the earthquake was 1,414 people, 2,357 were injured. These statistics do not contain information about territories not controlled by official Damascus.
In turn, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on February 12 that about 8.5 thousand people died in Syria after the earthquake.
Also, the head of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Hans Kluge, called the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria the strongest natural disaster in the region over the past 100 years. According to him, 26 million people in both countries are in need of humanitarian assistance.
On February 13, Deputy Head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria (CPVS), Major General Oleg Yegorov, said that the lack of security guarantees complicates the work of Russian humanitarian missions in some Syrian regions. 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.
On February 13, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had ordered the opening of two additional delivery points for humanitarian aid to the republic from Turkey. Two new checkpoints Bab el-Salam and El-Rayi will link Turkey and northwestern Syria. While the period of work of the points is limited to three months.
The Syrian Permanent Representative to the UN, Bassam Sabbagh, said on the same day that Damascus supports the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country by any means, including across the border, without additional conditions.
In addition, on February 11, it became known that WHO delivered 35 tons of medical equipment to Syria to help victims of earthquakes. Another 30 tons of equipment is planned to be delivered in the next two days.
Against the background of the cataclysm, the US Department of the Treasury on February 9 for half a year withdrew from sanctions against Syria any action to help the country after the earthquake.
Prior to that, 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.
On February 8, Syrian Minister of Local Self-Government and Environment Hussein Makhlouf expressed his gratitude to the states that provided assistance to Syria, including Russia. At the same time, Damascus pointed out that US sanctions interfere with the provision of humanitarian assistance to Syria, and called for their immediate removal. The UN also indicated that no sanctions should interfere with humanitarian activities.
On February 14, employees of the Russian Emergencies Ministry arrived from Syria after completing work in the earthquake relief zone.
