British delegation visits NE Syria after earthquake
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A delegation of the UK parliament visited areas of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria to inspect conditions in the region following the devastating earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey on Feb. 6.
The AANES Foreign Relations Department media office said the British delegation, headed by Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Matthew Offord, member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, visited on Saturday the department’s headquarters in the city of Qamishli.
Badran Chiya Kurd, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the AANES, during the meeting, made it clear that northeast Syria like other Syrian areas was affected by the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria.
At dawn on Feb. 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing thousands and injuring much more. The earthquake also caused immense destruction of buildings, trapping thousands under the rubble.
At least 1.414 deaths and 2.349 injuries have been confirmed in government-held areas, while 2.167 deaths and 2.950 injuries in northwest Syria, as for AANES six deaths and 56 injuries were confirmed, according to statistics released by the authorities in the three regions.
Chiya Kurd added that the AANES has prepared convoys of relief aid to be sent to the earthquake-affected areas, “but the convoys are still on borders and not allowed to have access to these areas, owing to political stances by armed groups, Turkish occupation and the Syrian regime.”
He noted, “When it comes to the Kurdish majority areas situated on both borders [with government and opposition], the humanitarian situation is being tackled in a discriminating manner and with systematic delay.”
Despite the humanitarian catastrophe, Turkish threats against northeast Syria, Chiya Kurd stressed, have not stopped, and “this is apparent evidence on Turkey’s insistence to follow the policy of extermination that was reflected through dealing with the catastrophic earthquake.”
A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) lost his life on Sunday after being targeted by a Turkish drone, in the western countryside of Kobani, northern Syria.
On Feb. 7, Turkish forces shelled vicinity of the town of Tel Rifaat in Aleppo northern countryside, which also was affected by the earthquake that had struck each of Turkey and Syria a day earlier.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle said the delegation visited the AANES’s areas to closely see conditions and needs of the region after the catastrophic earthquake.
Matthew Offord called on the international community to repatriate their nationals of Islamic State (ISIS) family members from camps in northeast Syria because they create a security dilemma that affects not only the AANES but also the entire world.