Earthquake leaves over 5 million people homeless in Syria – UNHCR
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The UNHCR has estimated that 5.37 million people affected by the quake that hit Syria will need shelter assistance across the country, UNHCR Representative in Syria, Sivanka Dhanapala, said on Friday.
Dhanapala said from the Syrian capital of Damascus, in a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, that this huge number comes to a population who already suffer from a mass displacement.
Due to the 12-year-old war that is overwhelming Syria, “there are 6.8 million people already internally displaced in the country,” he added.
The UNHCR is concerned about offering shelter and relief items, ensuring that all those who became homeless will get “tents, plastic sheeting, thermal blankets, sleeping mats, winter clothing and so on.”
The earthquake that hit Syria is “a crisis within a crisis” as the country already witnesses deteriorating economy and coronavirus, said the UNHCR Representative in Syria.
The earthquake hit in the depths of winter, as “blizzards raging in the affected areas,” Dhanapala noted.
People hit by the earthquake are sleeping outside their homes because they fear aftershocks will damage their cracked homes, Dhanapala said.
Regarding to cross-line aid mechanism from Syrian government-held areas to those of the opposition in northwest the country, which is badly hit, he added, “We hope that an agreement with the government will allow for fast and regular access to these areas.”
On Feb. 9, an official of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said, in a speech with North Press, complications by the Syrian government and the opposition hinder the arrival of aid to the affected areas.
On the same day, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said Syrians affected by the earthquake need “more of absolutely everything” in terms of aid away from politics.