Rescue workers search through the rubble of buildings for victims and survivors in the village of Salqin in Syria's Idlib province following Sunday night's earthquake and subsequent aftershocks on Feb. 7, 2023. (Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
Since a devastating earthquake on Sunday night, international humanitarian aid has been rapidly organized to help Turkey, but the situation in Syria, which was also badly affected by the quake, is more complex. Foreign assistance faces a challenge: helping the population in danger without playing into the hands of the regime in Damascus, especially with regard to opposition-held areas.In recent hours, footage of Syrians in rebel-held areas pulling their wounded out of the rubble have been pouring in on social media. The reported provisional death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and the strong aftershocks that followed stands in Syria at 2,547 dead, including more than 790 dead in the north-western areas under the control of the Turkey-backed factions or the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham...
Since a devastating earthquake on Sunday night, international humanitarian aid has been rapidly organized to help Turkey, but the situation in Syria, which was also badly affected by the quake, is more complex. Foreign assistance faces a challenge: helping the population in danger without playing into the hands of the regime in Damascus, especially with regard to opposition-held areas.In recent hours, footage of Syrians in rebel-held areas pulling their wounded out of the rubble have been pouring in on social media. The reported provisional death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and the strong aftershocks that followed stands in Syria at 2,547 dead, including more than 790 dead in the north-western areas under the control of the Turkey-backed factions or the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham...