The United Nations regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syrian crisis said on Thursday the death toll in the country from last week’s deadly earthquake is likely to rise further as crews scramble to remove rubble in the most affected areas.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Muhannad Hadi defended the UN response to the disaster, which many in Syria have criticized as slow and inadequate.
The UN has reported a death toll of about 6,000 across Syria, including 4,400 in the rebel-held northwest. That figure is higher than those reported by government authorities in Damascus and civil defense officials in the northwest, who reported 1,414 and 2,274 deaths respectively.
DELAYS IN INITIAL AID DUE TO EARTHQUAKE ATTRIBUTE TO SYRIA’S ASSAD, WARRING FACTIONS AND BUREAUCRACY
“We hope this number doesn’t go up too much,” Hadi said. “But from what we’re seeing… the devastation from this earthquake doesn’t really give us much hope that this is the end.”
Hadi noted that even before the quake, there were some 4.1 million people in need of assistance in northwestern Syria, many of whom were already displaced and have now been left homeless or displaced again.
Locals struggling with the aftermath of the quake have criticized delays in getting UN aid to the area. Roads leading to the only border crossing from Turkey to Syria that the UN is authorized to use were damaged by the quake. The first aid convoy to enter northwestern Syria arrived three days after the earthquake.
A man walks past collapsed buildings after an earthquake in the town of Jinderis, Syria, on February 14, 2023. The death toll from the earthquakes that hit Turkey and northern Syria continues to rise. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
The UN and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reached an agreement Monday to open two additional border crossings, but critics say the UN should have used additional crossings without waiting for approval or finding another way to get help, the light of the grave situation on the ground.
US MILITARY SHOT DOWN IRAN-MADE DRONE OVER SYRIAN OIL SITE
Syrian rescuers and those who lost their homes and families in the quake have criticized the slow arrival of aid and have said they feel abandoned by the international community.
“I can assure you that we have done everything possible from the beginning,” Hadi said. “We asked everyone to put the interests of the people first. We asked everyone to depoliticize the humanitarian situation and focus on supporting us to reach the people.”
Hadi said 120 aid trucks had crossed into northwestern Syria from Turkey as of Thursday.
So far, no aid convoys have crossed from Damascus-held territory into rebel-held areas. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the al Qaeda-linked rebel group that controls much of the northwest, has so far refused to allow aid to cross from government areas.
Hadi said the UN is “working with all parties” to open the route to aid, but acknowledged that “so far we have not been successful.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The UN has appealed for $397 million to provide “vital, desperately needed aid” including shelter, food and medical care over the next three months.
More complications are almost certain to arise once the earthquake response shifts from immediate emergency aid to reconstruction, but Hadi said it’s too early to think about that.
“What we have to focus on right now is humanitarian work,” he said.
