Syria earthquake: UN and government criticised for aid failure
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Geneva: The United Nations and the Syrian government are among the factors being criticised for the delay in getting emergency aid to Syrians affected by last month's earthquake.
An UN-appointed commission of inquiry was studying the immediate aftermath of the earthquake that killed around 6,000 people in Syria's rebel-held northwest close to the Turkish border. Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the commission, in a statement said: "Though there were many acts of heroism amid the suffering, we also witnessed a wholesale failure by the Government and the international community, including the United Nations, to rapidly direct life-saving support to Syrians in the direst need," Reuters.
The parties involved also failed to agree on a pause in hostilities and to allow life-saving aid through any available route, leaving Syrians feeling abandoned and neglected by those supposed to protect them, in the most desperate of times, he added. Syria's information ministry did not immediately respond to the report.
The UN had previously said it does not have the search and rescue capabilities and relies on the national government. The Syrian government said humanitarian aid should go through the territory under its control. After a UN Security Council agreement, supplies to the northwest were allowed to cross the border from Turkey.
The report noted that the actors failed to agree to a pause in hostilities and allow life-saving aid through any available route. This left Syrians affected by the quake "abandoned and neglected" by those supposed to protect them in the most desperate of times. President Bashar al-Assad’s government took a week to consent to cross-border aid access.
"Syrians now need a comprehensive ceasefire that is fully respected, for civilians – including aid workers – to be safe. Incomprehensibly, due to the cruelty and cynicism of parties to the conflict, we are now investigating fresh attacks even in the very areas devastated by the earthquakes," added Pinheiro.
The report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on March 21.