Quake rubble removal completed in Syria’s Jindires after 4 months
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – The Syria Civil Defense announced the completion of work on the removal of rubble from the Feb. 6 earthquake in the town of Jindires, Afrin region, northwest Syria, after four months.
The Syria Civil Defense (White Helmets) is an organization operating in areas held by Turkish-backed opposition factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA) in northwest Syria.
On Feb. 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and Syria, killing thousands in both countries and causing widespread destruction, as well as the displacement of tens of thousands of people.
The toll of victims in Jindires, the most affected Syrian area by the earthquake, has reached 513 deaths and 831 wounded, in addition 200 building which were completely destroyed and 500 others which were partially damaged.
Sources from the Syria Civil Defense told North Press that its teams, in cooperation with other local organizations, finished the process of rubble removal in Jindires.
It took four months of persistent work, with the participation of about 100 vehicles, removing the debris of about 250 buildings, according to the Civil Defense.
In January 2018, Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed SNA launched the so-called ‘Olive Branch’ military operation against the Afrin region in order to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting “Turkish national security”.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original Kurdish inhabitants of Afrin, who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.