Damascus announces the opening of two new crossing points to speed up the arrival of humanitarian aid

What there is to know

Will Syria (finally) receive the necessary humanitarian aid? Damascus announced on Monday, February 13, the opening for an initial period of three months, of two new crossing points with Turkey to speed up the arrival of relief. Until then, only one crossing point, that of Bab al-Hawa, was open to access rebel areas in northwestern Syria. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed this decision by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad which “will allow more help to come in, faster”. Follow our live.

A score that continues to climb. A total of 35,331 people died, according to the latest reports available on Monday evening. In detail, there are 31,643 dead in southern Turkey, according to Afad, the Turkish public disaster management body, while the authorities have counted 3,688 dead in Syria.

Hundreds of thousands of homeless people still face hunger and cold. According to the Turkish government, some 1.2 million people have been housed in student residences, more than 206,000 tents have been erected and 400,000 victims evacuated from the devastated areas.

Rare survivors. In the night from Sunday to Monday, seven people were released alive in Turkey, according to the press, including a three-year-old child in Kahramanmaras and a 60-year-old woman in Besni. Another, 40, was also rescued after 170 hours in Gaziantep.

source site-33