US: “We are helping the Syrian people… It is not the Assad regime.”

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While the United States is working with its allies to provide relief for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, it has made it clear that it is helping Syria, not supporting the Syrian regime.

According to AFP on the 8th (local time), US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said, “Just as we have led humanitarian aid since the Syrian civil war began, we are committed to helping the Syrian people recover from this disaster (earthquake). there is,” he said.

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However, he emphasized again, “Of course, I want to emphasize here that this money goes to the Syrian people, not the regime,” and “this fact will not change.”

Syria has been suffering from civil war for decades. The civil war began in March 2011 with protests calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship, but then spread to conflicts between Shiites and Sunni Muslims and a proxy war between the US and Russia.

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Most aid to Syria goes through the capital Damascus, a government-owned territory. Assad’s regime has tightly controlled what aid is delivered to rebel-held areas, so most of the aid to rebel-held areas in the north has been routed through Turkey’s borders.

The West, which has been at odds with Syria, is in a position to support the earthquake through Turkiye. The United States announced that it would dispatch two rescue teams to Turkey, a NATO ally. 158 manpower, 12 search dogs, and 77,100 kg of special equipment are mobilized.

UK World Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell also said he would work with the White Helmets, a Syrian civilian rescue service.

Meanwhile, some countries friendly to the Syrian government are sending aid directly to the capital, Damascus. According to Iranian state media and the Syrian Red Crescent, Iran sent a plane carrying 70 tons of food, tents and medical supplies to Damascus. The goods are expected to arrive in the government-controlled provinces of Aleppo and Latakia.

Russia, an Assad regime’s ally, has consistently opposed sending aid to rebels through Turkey. The position is that all aid must go through the Assad regime.

Previously, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred at 4:17 am (10:17 am Korean time) on the 6th in the southeastern Gaziantep and south central Kahramanmaras regions of Turkiye, adjacent to the Syrian border. Afterwards, at 1:24 pm local time, an aftershock of magnitude 7.5 occurred at a point 59 km north-northeast of Kahramanmaras, increasing the damage.

A total of 7,926 deaths have been confirmed so far, including 5,894 in Turkiye and 2,032 in Syria. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the death toll could reach 20,000, saying that aftershocks continue to occur and further collapse is feared.

Source: Donga

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