UNSG launch $397MM humanitarian appeal to help Syria quake victims

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Feb 21:10
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The fund is reported to cover a period of three months.

A man sits atop the rubble of collapsed buildings following a devastating earthquake in the town of Jinderis, Aleppo province, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the launch of a $397 million humanitarian appeal to aid Syria in the wake of the devastating earthquake.

"Today, I am announcing that the United Nations is launching a $397 million humanitarian appeal for the people of earthquake-ravaged Syria. This will cover a period of three months," Guterres told journalists.

“The Syria effort brings together the entire UN system and humanitarian partners and will help secure desperately needed, life-saving relief for nearly 5 million Syrians – including shelter, healthcare, food, and protection.”

“We all know that lifesaving aid has not been getting in at the speed and scale needed”, Guterres said, with millions of people “struggling for survival, homeless and in freezing temperatures.”

It's worth noting that relief aid convoys are being sent to affected people in Latakia through Lebanese-Syrian and Iraqi-Syrian borders, the Iraqi PMF's chief of staff heads delegations to make sure affected areas' needs are met. Yesterday, 23 aid trucks sent by the Hezbollah Lebanese resistance group arrived in Latakia. Head of the Hezbollah Executive Council, Hashim Safi Al-Din, announced sending the first batch of aid to Latakia, to be followed by other convoys to Aleppo and other Syrian regions.

The aid provided from Lebanon, Iraq, Libya, the UAE, and Algeria, which arrived in Latakia, included food, health and relief packages, household and medical tools, clothes, and blankets. Convoys continue to arrive from the borders and Latakia International Airport.

The US Treasury Department announced Thursday a temporary lifting of some Syria-related sanctions following calls from the Syrian state and the international community in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude that struck Syria and Turkey.

The Department indicated in a statement that the move "authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations."