Inside the country, the earthquake made no difference: it affected both the Idlib region in the north, held by an alliance of rebel groups hostile to the Damascus regime, and the area of ‘Aleppo, which is under government control. And Syria, which had completely disappeared from our radar screens, has just been brutally and tragically remembered by the world.
>> Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: why is the damage so great?
In Idlib, where more than three million people live, the local government (made up of Islamists from Hayat Tahrir Al-Cham, a former branch of Al-Qaida in Syria, and other rebel groups, supported in particular by Ankara) has chartered a few buses to facilitate the movement of the victims, the white helmets do what they can to get the victims out of the rubble, but, on the whole, the inhabitants suffer a double penalty. Already devastated by 12 years of war, they are now completely cut off from the rest of the world. So far, humanitarian aid has arrived through a single crossing point with Turkey. To put pressure on the rebels, Damascus had succeeded in closing the other three.
However, this road was badly damaged by the earthquake, trucks can no longer enter. For Damascus, this is a dream opportunity. Bashar al-Assad’s regime is demanding that all humanitarian aid now pass through the capital and the central authorities before being redistributed. A completely cynical way to make yourself unavoidable, to have your power recognized throughout the territory and to regain international legitimacy. The inhabitants of Idlib, on the other hand, are convinced that aid will never arrive.
The regime also took advantage of this disaster to demand a lifting of international sanctions: an argument that it developed in the first hours following the earthquake: “US and EU sanctions hamper humanitarian response”.
Bashar al-Assad has only two allies left: Russia and Iran
In the area of Aleppo, which is under the control of the regime, several political and humanitarian leaders have again called for the lifting of these sanctions while in Damascus, the government officially requested aid from the European Union. With one goal in mind: to take advantage of this outstretched hand to break out of its economic and diplomatic isolation. Because since the beginning of the war, in 2011, Bashar al-Assad has only two allies left, Russia and Iran. In Brussels, the European Commission encouraged Wednesday, February 8, the 27 to respond favorably, but Germany, for example, paid lip service. “Yes, we will provide assistance”said a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but we will maintain “our contacts to the bare minimum”. “We are not going to cooperate with the Syrian regime (…) as long as the worst human rights abuses occur every day.”
Bashar al-Assad could also turn to the Gulf countries: in recent years, thanks to the territorial reconquests of Damascus, several countries in the region have resumed or are seeking to resume contact with the former pariah. Moreover, a number of leaders in the emirates have called Assad to offer their condolences and send him assistance. What makes the Syrian opposition media cringe Al JumhuriyaQuoted by International mail : “While the official accounts of the presidency are busy retransmitting on social networks the multiple calls and telegrams sent by presidents, kings and princes, the authorities have not yet declared any day of mourning for the victims of the earthquake.“.