Islamist group preventing aid into earthquake hit northern Syria: UN

New Delhi: The much-needed aid for Earthquake hit northern Syria has been held up by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a United Nations spokesperson said on Saturday according to Reuters.

Northern Syria, largely controlled by the HTS, is amongst the worst hit in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey and Syria on Monday that has, so far, killed more than 28,000 people in both countries.

The Syrian government last week said it was willing to send aid to the region.

However, “there are issues with approval” by HTS, a spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian aid office was quoted as saying in a Reuters report_._

The UN “continues to work with relevant parties to have access to the area,” a UN spokesperson in Damascus was quoted as saying while declining to comment further.

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There was no immediate response from the HTS media office to a request for comment, the report said.

An HTS source in Idlib was quoted to have told Reuters that the group would not allow any shipments from government-held parts of Syria.

The aid, according to him, would be coming in from Turkey to the north.

“Turkey has opened all the roads and we won’t allow the regime to take advantage of the situation to show they are helping,” he said.

The hostilities that crisscross Syria, shattered by nearly 12 years of conflict, are an added challenge for aid workers trying to get help to people affected by the earthquake.

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An aid convoy from Syria’s Kurdish-led northeastern region carrying fuel and other aid was also turned back on Thursday from the northwest, where Turkey-backed rebels reign.

The European Union’s envoy to Syria on Sunday urged authorities in Damascus to “engage in good faith” with aid workers to get help to those in need.

“It is important to allow unimpeded access for aid to arrive in all areas where it is needed,” he said.

“Entering a fake blame game is not constructive and does not help us deliver aid to those in so much need and distress in a more timely manner. On the contrary,” he added.

 With inputs from Reuters    

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