Next March 15 marks the 12th anniversary of the start of the civil war in Syria. What began with the so-called Arab Spring, turned into an agony that has left 6.8 million refugees according to 2022 data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (Acnur). Today the focus returns to Syria after the earthquake on February 6.
(Read also: Turkey and Syria: the balance of the tragedy one week after the earthquake)
An estimated 3,600 people lost their lives in the quake that also struck Turkeybut, that number may be higher, not only because of the intensity of the earth movement of 7.8, but also because the help did not arrive and does not arrive in the same way.
Some testimonies report that the destruction caused by the earthquake mimics that already left by the war in Aleppo and its surroundings. At the moment, only the UN has enabled a channel -already extended to two new crossings- through which to introduce humanitarian aid.
Syria is sanctioned by the international community, which makes the entry of support that did not arrive until the fourth day of the catastrophe more complicated.
(Read also: Earthquake in Turkey: see the shocking images of NASA on catastrophe)
Bashar Al Assad’s regime controls one part of the country, while the opponents and rebels control another, so it is quite complex to provide aid to international organizations. So far, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia – the latter sent a plane with supplies after 10 years without flying over Syrian territory – have sent support to the country.
The debate about what is happening in Syria has been reopened. For a couple of years the issue has been hidden, but now it is back on the scene. The violence in that country has not stopped. Government and opposition are still at odds. The international community accuses Al Assad of genocide by accusing him of using chlorine and sarin gas against civilians.s, in addition to multiple human rights violations.
Trucks with UN relief are rolling into north-west #Syria.
I am encouraged by the scale-up of convoys from the UN transshipment center at the Turkish border.
We need to open more access points and get more aid out fast. pic.twitter.com/EK2ZLSxb5l
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) February 12, 2023
After almost 10 years of conflict, in 2020 the United States tightened sanctions against that country. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced at that time the “Caesar Law”, which consisted of sanctions against Bashar Al Assad and 38 people around him.
This package contained new economic and travel blocks. It was mentioned that one of the strongest rounds of sanctions, since any economic transaction with the country was prohibited.
In 2012, before the first attacks, the regime led by Bashar al Assad accepted that it had these types of weapons in its possession but that it would only use them “against Western troops”.
This is how the years have passed. According to UN estimates, more than 387,000 have died from the war, six out of 10 Syrians live in extreme poverty. The aftermath of the earthquake will further deepen this crisis, especially without international support.
Last Friday, Al Asad complained about the sanctions and assured that the West politicizes the situation in his country.
Last week the United States Department of the Treasury announced that it would allow for 180 transactions with Syria that are related to responding to the tragedy, this so that sanctions are not a reason to deny aid.
On the other hand, the European Commission denies that the measures imposed affect the shipments of support to the victims and activated the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union.
Meanwhile, violence and rampage continues in the war-torn Arab country, including not only the government and opposition but extremist jihadist organizations and rebels.
ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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