Syria: rural areas hit by the earthquake would be abandoned in favor of the big cities

In the town of Jinderis, in the province of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, February 14, 2023. AP - Ghaith Alsayed

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More than 8,500 Syrians died in the February 6 quake, including nearly 2,800 in the tremors that hit southern Turkey.

The death toll could increase as relief operations have not yet ended in rural areas in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

Twenty days after the devastating earthquake of February 6, dozens of villages in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama are still buried under the rubble, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In a report published this Saturday, February 25, the NGO based in Great Britain affirms that the rubble has not been cleared in the villages under the control of the Syrian government and hard hit by the earthquake.

Relief operations remain timid or have simply not started in these stricken localities where many victims are still under the rubble.

► To read also: the population of Iraqi Kurdistan is mobilizing to help the victims in Syria

Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria, in this handout released by SANA February 6, 2023. via REUTERS - SANA

Media absent from rural areas

The teams in charge of distributing emergency aid or inspecting the damaged buildings are slow to get to the field.

The NGO, which has an extensive network of informants, reports that the Syrian government is concentrating its efforts in urban areas, such as Latakia and the city of Aleppo itself.

The rural areas south of Aleppo, around the coastal towns of Jablé and Banias, as well as in Hama in the center, are neglected by the authorities in Damascus.    

The Observatory notes that the media close to the Syrian government avoid covering events in rural areas which have nevertheless been massively affected by the earthquake.

► Find all our articles, analyzes and reports on the earthquake in Syria and Turkey by clicking here

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• Syria

• Natural disasters

• Earthquake

• Turkey