The United Nations says 4.1 million people, most of them displaced by the conflict and living in camps, are currently dependent on cross-border humanitarian aid in northwest Syria, and international support efforts have been prolonged and underfunded.
“Syrian communities are simultaneously affected by an ongoing cholera epidemic and harsh winter events, including weekend heavy rain and snow,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
In the government-controlled city of Aleppo, images on Twitter show two neighboring buildings collapsing one after another, filling the streets with a cloud of dust.
Two people living in the city, which was heavily damaged in the war, said that the buildings collapsed within hours after the earthquake, which was felt even in Cyprus and Lebanon.
A Reuters reporter saw a lifeless child pulled from the ruins of a building in the Syrian government-controlled city of Hama.
“NO ONE LEFT”
In the rebel-controlled town of Jandaris in Aleppo province, a pile of concrete, steel bars and piles of clothing lay on the site of what once stood as a multi-storey building.
“There were 12 families under it. Not a single person came out. Not one,” said a thin young man, his eyes wide in shock and his hand bandaged.
Raed al-Saleh of the Syrian White Helmets, a rescue service known for rescuing people from the rubble of buildings destroyed by airstrikes in rebel-held areas, said they were “racing against time to save the lives of those under the rubble.” “.
Syrian state television showed rescuers searching for survivors in heavy rain and sleet. President Bashar Assad’s office said it held an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss next steps.
In Diyarbakir, Turkey, dozens of rescuers searched a pile of debris for what was left of a large building, pulling pieces of debris as they searched for survivors, Reuters reporters found. Occasionally they would raise their hands and call for silence, listening to the sounds of life.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu by phone on Monday.
Price stated that “they should first pick up the phone and let us know to express their condolences and clarify that we can provide everything Turkey needs.” Erdogan said that 45 countries have made proposals. To assist search and rescue efforts in Turkey.
