Syria, Turkey Earthquake Death Toll over 23,000 Amid Struggle to Get Aid to Quake’s Victims
Syria, Turkey Earthquake Death Toll over 23,000 Amid Struggle to Get Aid to Quake’s Victims
The death toll in Turkey and Syria from this week’s catastrophic earthquake surpassed 23,600 on Friday as relief organizations struggled to overcome an array of obstacles to deliver aid to survivors in both countries.
The second aid convoy in two days, loaded with medicine, food and clothes, reached an opposition enclave in northwestern in Syria, as the leaders of Turkey and Syria visited shattered earthquake zones to meet survivors.
Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s authoritarian president, appeared in Aleppo, one of the cities most severely damaged by the earthquake. His visit came as a reminder of his lasting power after more than a decade of civil war that has left his country in ruins. Beginning in 2012, he presided over the siege of Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, in his effort to crush a nationwide revolt and keep himself in power. Thousands were killed and much of the city was obliterated.
But on Friday, Mr. al-Assad presented himself as there to provide succor to the thousands affected by the week’s earthquake. In photos released by his office he appears smiling, accompanied by his wife, as he greets the injured. In another video he appears wearing a face mask and hairnet as he tours a soup kitchen set up for victims.
The effort to provide aid to millions of people across both countries has been strained by bitter cold, power outages and shortages of fuel, trucks and other essential supplies and by the many constraints posed by a continuing state of war inside Syria.
The earthquake zone in Syria includes areas controlled by the Syrian government and others held by opposition forces backed by Turkey. Those territorial divisions, and an array of political obstacles stemming from the ongoing civil war, have created fatal delays in delivering help to Syrians.
