Syria says quake aid will reach all its people

Syria says quake aid will reach all its people
by AFP Staff Writers
United Nations, United States (AFP) Feb 6, 2023

War-torn Syria said Monday that aid sent after the earthquake will reach all its population, even though Damascus does not control all of its territory.

The 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing thousands of people.

Asked if aid donated to Syria -- some areas are held by rebels -- would reach all of the population, Syria's UN envoy Bassam Sabbagh said it would.

"We assure the UN that we are ready to help and to coordinate to provide assistance to all Syrians in all territory of Syria," Sabbagh said after meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to convey a Syrian government request for aid.

"We are ready to help also those who wanted to provide the help in all Syria," he stressed.

Today humanitarian aid in rebel-held areas usually arrives through Turkey, thanks to a cross-border mechanism created in 2014 by a UN Security Council resolution.

But this mechanism is contested by Damascus and its ally Moscow, who call the system a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Under pressure from Russia and China, the number of crossing points has been reduced over time from four to one.

Asked about the possible opening of new crossing points to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, the Syrian ambassador seemed to reject the idea on Monday.

"I said we are ready to work with all who wanted to provide Syrians from inside Syria," he said in English.

"So access from inside Syria are there. So if anyone would like to help Syria, they can coordinate with the government and we will be ready to do so."

At least 20 escape Syria prison holding IS inmates after quake
Azaz, Syria (AFP) Feb 6, 2023 - Prisoners mutinied in a northwestern Syria prison Monday following a deadly earthquake, with at least 20 escaping the jail holding mostly Islamic State group members, a source at the facility told AFP.

The military police prison in the town of Rajo near the Turkish border holds about 2,000 inmates, with about 1,300 of them suspected to be IS fighters, said the source.

The prison also holds fighters from Kurdish-led forces.

"After the earthquake struck, Rajo was affected and inmates started to mutiny and took control of parts of the prison," said the official at Rajo jail, which is controlled by pro-Turkish factions.

"About 20 prisoners fled... who are believed to be IS militants."

The 7.8-magnitude quake -- which was followed by dozens of aftershocks in the region -- caused damage to the prison, with walls and doors cracking, the source added.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said it could not verify whether prisoners had escaped, but confirmed there was a mutiny.

At least 1,444 people died Monday across Syria after the devastating earthquake that had its epicentre in southwestern Turkey, the government and rescuers said.

In rebel-held parts of the country's northwest, at least 733 people were killed and more than 2,100 injured, according to the White Helmets rescue group.

The incident in Rajo comes on the heels of an IS attack in December on a security complex in their former de facto Syrian capital of Raqa, which aimed to free fellow jihadists from a prison there.

Six members of the Kurdish-led security forces that control the area were killed in the foiled assault.

The conflict in Syria started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful protests and escalated to pull in foreign powers and global jihadists.

Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes, with many seeking refuge in Turkey.