The death toll from the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria rose to more than 33,000 on Sunday, as a new UN convoy arrived in Syria, bringing much-needed aid to the victims. Ten trucks crossed the border from Turkey at the Bab-al Hawa crossing point in northwestern Syria, an AFP correspondent noted, bringing emergency shelters with materials. plastic sheets, blankets, mattresses, ropes, screws and nails, among others.
UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, however, acknowledged that “so far we have failed the people of northwestern Syria. They rightly feel abandoned.” We must now “correct this failure as soon as possible”, he said. According to an official of the Syrian Ministry of Transport, Suleiman Khalil, 62 planes loaded with aid have so far landed in the country and more are expected in the hours and days to come, notably from Saudi Arabia.
Bashar Al-Assad thanks the United Arab Emirates for their help
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for its “enormous humanitarian aid”, as he received the head of Emirati diplomacy, Abdallah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in Damascus. Abu Dhabi initially announced 12.7 million euros in humanitarian aid to Syria before promising an additional 47 million euros.
The powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian government, for its part sent a convoy of humanitarian aid to western Syria on Sunday, with “food” and “medical supplies”.