Ravaged by twelve years of war, Syria is now going through one of the worst humanitarian crises in its history after the earthquake. The provisional toll, this Tuesday, reports 1,440 dead. The regions of Idlib and Aleppo are particularly affected and international aid is slow to arrive.
Lifeless bodies wrapped in towels and laid on the floor. These scenes take place near a hospital in the Idlib region. After the earthquake, the rescuers embarked on a race against time to save as many people as possible.
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In this hospital, Ahmet, 55, is waiting for news of one of his daughters. Wounded, she is in the operating room. This Syrian man lost one of his granddaughters in the collapse of his house. “All buildings are down. I need a backhoe to try to find my loved ones under the rubble, but I can’t find anyone to help me.”
“There are no rescuers, no truck. Even though my daughter is dead, I want to dig for her body.”
Ahmed, 55-year-old Syrianat franceinfo
Abdelmalik is an ambulance driver. He was sent to a village near the Turkish border, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. This rescuer feels helpless. “Injured people are still under the rubble. But we don’t have enough trucks to clear the ground. That’s why the number of dead is only increasing. For now, we’re mainly taking out bodies. We’re doing we are doing our best, but we lack the arms and equipment to search for the victims. We are not receiving any help here. It is a huge disaster, we hope that we will finally be sent help.”
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Dictator Al-Assad calls for help from the international community
In the Idlib region, 3 million people live in this last enclave of the rebellion. Most of them are displaced. Before this disaster, the UN was already talking about an area plunged into a humanitarian disaster. The situation is just as dramatic in the cities controlled by Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, such as Aleppo. Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed and thousands of people are left homeless.
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In these totally destroyed neighborhoods, 60-year-old Mohammed wanders among the rubble. The man lost everything in the disaster. “We need help, food, blankets, we need shelter, we need everything… People are in the streets, they are afraid. Imagine the children! The situation is catastrophic.”
“The war had already ravaged almost everything and this earthquake is even worse.”
Mohammad, 60 years oldat franceinfo
Bashar Al-Assad announced a mobilization of all available means. With very limited means, the regime, under economic sanctions, therefore asks the international community to send aid urgently.