Amnesty accuses SNA, Syrian government of ‘politicizing’ quake aid
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – In a statement today, March 6, Amnesty International accused both the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Syrian government of “politicizing” earthquake aid deliveries to northwest Syria.
The Syrian government blocked at least 100 aid trucks and the SNA at least 30, all of which were sent by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). According to Syrians for Truth and Justice, a research organisation, SNA groups did so at Turkey’s behest.
SNA factions also stand accused of prioritizing Arab settlers over the indigenous Kurdish population of Afrin while distributing aid. One local said his family had to purchase a tent for 125 British pounds from one of the groups.
Amnesty International also found that SNA forces had used force, including shooting in the air, to disperse earthquake victims and claim aid delivered by NGOs for themselves.
The Kurdish town of Jindires, in Afrin, is the worst-affected urban region in Syria.
Aya Majzoub, Amnesty’s regional deputy director, said, “These politically-motivated obstructions of critical aid have had tragic ramifications, especially for search-and-recovery teams who need fuel to operate machinery.”
Amnesty is also aware of Syrian government soldiers stealing aid for themselves. The 100 truck convoy sent by the AANES to the Kurdish-run neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh in Aleppo was reduced to 21, which entered the city belatedly, on February 18 and 19. Syrian government forces syphoned off at least 40 fuel trucks. In a previous statement, Amnesty International had decried the Syrian government’s siege of the two Kurdish neighborhoods.
The earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on February 6 killed over 50.000 people, including over 6.000 in Syria alone. Thousands of residents in northwest Syria have been made homeless; millions have been displaced.