Monitoring Desk
WASHINGTON: The United States (US) said Tuesday it was working with partners to provide earthquake relief and assistance in Syria but would stand firm against working with the Bashar al-Assad-led government.
Washington also said it expected to send further aid to Turkiye after sending two rescue teams to the NATO ally, which suffered heavily in Sunday’s earthquake.
“In Syria itself, we have humanitarian partners that are coordinating lifesaving assistance,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told media as he met his Austrian counterpart.
“We are committed to providing that assistance to help Syrian people recover from this calamity, just as we have been their leading humanitarian donor since the beginning of the war in Syria itself,” Blinken said.
“I want to clarify that these funds go to the Syrian people, not the regime. That would not change.”
Stephen Allen, who is coordinating the response on the ground for the USAID, said that most of the damage was in areas not under Bashar al-Assad’s control and that USAID had local partners there.
Allen said that USAID is reorienting assistance already in place to help war-hit Syrians, instead focusing on rescue efforts and other immediate needs, including providing shelter and food.
“We have got the full gamut of humanitarian response in progress in northwest Syria right now,” Allen told media persons.
US coordinating with NGOs for relief in quake-hit Syria
He declined to name the non-governmental organizations working with the United States, citing operational security.
The United States announced that it sent two rescue teams to NATO ally Turkiye. Stephen Allen said the teams would arrive Wednesday morning and head to the city of Adiyaman, where search efforts have been limited.
He said the teams, coming on two C-130 transport aircraft, are bringing 158 personnel, 12 dogs, and 170,000 pounds (77,100 kilograms) of specialized equipment.
“What we are focused on right now in Turkiye is getting teams out and saving lives, to put it bluntly,” Stephen Allen said from Ankara.
“If they need more assistance when it comes to populations who may need immediate assistance or maybe without housing, we are certainly ready to facilitate them,” he said.
According to officials and medics, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed more than 7,100 people in the two countries.
