More aid arrives in quake-struck northwest: Border official

A United Nations aid convoy crossed into war-torn Syria's rebel-held northwest from Turkey on Friday, the second such delivery after a devastating earthquake hit the two countries, a border official told AFP.

The 7.8-magnitude quake early Monday has killed some 22,000 people in Turkey and Syria, according to officials and medics.

"A second aid convoy, coming from the United Nations, entered a short time ago," said Mazen Alloush, media officer at the Bab al-Hawa crossing.

The convoy consisted of 14 trucks containing non-food items such as "humanitarian kits, solar lamps, blankets and other assistance," International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Paul Dillon told reporters in Geneva.

The aid "will be sufficient for about 1,100 families in the quake-hit areas in Idlib" province in the country's northwest, he added.

On Thursday, a first delivery carried "basic relief items ... to cover the needs of at least 5,000 people," the IOM had said.

The aid delivery mechanism from Turkey into rebel-held areas of Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing is the only way UN assistance can reach civilians without passing through areas controlled by Syrian government forces.

While the crossing itself was not affected by the quake, the road leading to it was damaged, temporarily disrupting operations, a UN spokesman said earlier this week.

The White Helmets rescue group that operates in rebel-held areas had expressed disappointment Thursday at the first batch of aid, saying it was part of "routine" deliveries.

"This is certainly not special aid and equipment for search and rescue teams," the group said on Twitter.

"This makes us very disappointed at a time when we are desperate for such equipment to help us save lives from under the rubble."