UN says 937 quake-aid trucks cross from Türkiye to Syria-Xinhua

UN says 937 quake-aid trucks cross from Türkiye to Syria

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2023-03-23 05:40:15

UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and partners continue to ramp up relief deliveries to earthquake-ravaged regions in Türkiye and Syria, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 937 trucks carrying aid from seven UN agencies crossed into northwest Syria from Türkiye since the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Additionally, OCHA said that following the first interagency visit to Idlib on Feb. 14, there have been 34 cross-border, fact-finding missions to northwest Syria. The missions have interviewed people to assess their needs and coordinate the humanitarian response.

Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, the UN emergency relief coordinator, ended his second trip to earthquake-stricken Syria on Wednesday, a UN spokesperson told a regular press briefing.

In Türkiye, the United Nations and partners are reaching 1.25 million people daily with hot meals, OCHA said. Nearly 623,000 people have received water, sanitation and hygiene support.

The humanitarian partners provided more than 46,000 tents and hundreds of thousands of tarps, blankets, bedsheets, mattresses, cooking equipment and hygiene kits, OCHA said, noting the 1-billion-U.S.-dollar flash appeal for Türkiye is less than 19 percent funded.