Affected by two strong earthquakes in Turkey, many provinces in Syria were seriously affected.

　　According to statistics from the Syrian Ministry of Health, in Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Tartus and other provinces controlled by the Syrian government, the earthquake has killed 812 people and injured 1,449.

According to rescue workers, the earthquake has killed at least 1,020 people and injured about 2,400 in areas controlled by rebels in Syria.

　　Collapsed buildings, overcrowded hospitals, desperate parents holding unconscious children, rescue workers frantically digging through rubble... these are the catastrophic scenes described by residents and aid groups in northern Syria.

The picture shows the collapsed buildings in Syria's Idlib province.

　　Prior to this, during the nearly 12 years of fighting in Syria, especially in the rebel-controlled northwest of the country, this kind of scene had become a "common sight."

lack of rescue equipment

They dig up the ruins with their bare hands

　　According to CCTV news reports, the northern part of Syria has been particularly affected by the two earthquakes in Turkey.

　　According to reports, Syria does not have enough machines and rescue equipment to help the large number of people trapped in the rubble, and videos posted online showed locals digging up the rubble with their bare hands to save their families and neighbors.

　　The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also mentioned in a statement issued on the 7th local time that the Syrian people were digging in the ruins with bare hands because they did not have the equipment and supplies they needed.

On February 7, local time, in Al Atareb, Syria, rescuers rescued a trapped person.

　　Buildings damaged after the first quake kept collapsing in aftershocks.

Syrians who witnessed the collapse said buildings that were not strong enough, even if they were new, had collapsed.

"I still hear here and there that buildings are collapsing, old buildings, even new ones," said Ziad al-Ubari, a Syrian who owns a pharmaceutical factory. He added: "Every hour that passes I hear someone Say, maybe 40 buildings have collapsed in the past hour."

　　When the first quake struck in the early hours of the morning, the icy streets were filled with terrified residents in pajamas, "who just wanted to live," Ziad Ubaari said.

In one video, a man repeatedly yells as women hold their babies on a street before the first and second buildings collapse, sending dust up the street.

　　Moreover, the scene of a Syrian hospital after the earthquake bears a resemblance to that seen at the height of the civil war: wards filled with patients sharing beds, and doctors treating victims around every corner.

Dr. Osama Salum, a local doctor, said he received an emergency call shortly after the quake to report to an underground hospital dug during the war.

When he arrived at the hospital, he saw "bodies piled up in the halls" and at least 50 bodies in the hospital corridors.

"Every moment new bodies are brought in, many of them children."

On February 7, local time, in Latakia, Syria, rescuers transported a wounded person.

Civil War Superimposed Earthquake

Western sanctions hamper relief aid arrivals

　　Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, endless disasters have plagued northern Syria. Thousands of civilians have died, a large number of infrastructures have been damaged, water and electricity shortages, the spread of the new crown epidemic and cholera...

　　"We need help...we are tired of all of this. It's a shame that Western countries are punishing the Syrian people, and they must lift the sanctions!" On the 7th, in the city of Aleppo, which is located in the earthquake-stricken area in northern Syria, public school teacher Aisha Xi Lu excitedly complained to a reporter from Xinhua News Agency about the unilateral sanctions imposed by the West.

　　After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the United States and its Western allies strongly supported the Syrian opposition forces, leading to local wars and conflicts that continue to this day.

The historic city of Aleppo was severely damaged in the war, and the economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries have caused the Syrian economy to wither and the people's lives to be miserable. Many people live in unrepaired dangerous buildings.

The strong earthquake on the 6th made the affected people lose their homes, and the buildings collapsed in an instant like small boats swaying in huge waves in front of the shock waves.

　　After the earthquake, Shilu and the children fled in a hurry with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

"The situation is catastrophic. Coping with natural disasters like this requires an international effort and we need a lot of help. In most cases, it is sanctions that prevent relief aid from arriving," said Mohammad Basarat, a local civil servant.

　　Basarat said sanctions were the root of the problem and lifting them was an urgent priority as they were unreasonable and unfair.

Many people who were not displaced during the war are being forced to leave their homes.

　　Before the earthquake, there was already a huge humanitarian aid gap in Syria, and the disaster further increased the demand for humanitarian assistance.

The local rescue team has limited types and quantities of equipment. Except for excavators, rescue equipment is relatively simple, and medical resources are also facing a shortage.

In addition, after the earthquake, a large number of people lost their homes and could only be temporarily resettled in public places such as local schools, and lacked essential living materials.

The picture shows the Syrian Idlib province, rescue workers looking for survivors under the rubble.

　　According to CNN, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the Syrian Crisis Area Humanitarian Coordinator issued a joint statement on the 7th, saying that nearly 70% of the population in Syria needed humanitarian assistance before the earthquake, and the earthquake disaster made the local people The humanitarian crisis has only worsened.

The statement said the country "is grappling with a collapsing economy and severe shortages of water, electricity and fuel".

They appealed to all donors to provide the necessary assistance to alleviate the suffering of the affected people in Syria.

Many parties call on the West to lift sanctions as soon as possible

Facilitate international rescue

　　On the 7th local time, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement refuting the United States' attempt to mislead world public opinion and its claim that the sanctions against Syria will not hinder the provision of humanitarian assistance to Syria.

But in fact, in the face of the earthquake disaster, the Syrian people were digging in the ruins with bare hands because they did not have the equipment and supplies they needed.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Syrian rescue team does not have the relevant tools and equipment to rescue people buried deep under the rubble, so they need to spend twice as long to carry out the rescue.

　　The Syrian Foreign Ministry said U.S. officials could lie, but pictures of earthquake-hit areas in Syria would not lie.

Despite the sanctions, the Syrian people have responded to the disaster with strength and determination.

　　The head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Khalid Habubati, said at a press conference on the 7th that the blockade and economic sanctions imposed by Western countries on Syria have hindered post-earthquake relief.

"We need heavy machinery, firefighting and emergency vehicles to speed up the rescue process." He called on Western countries to lift sanctions against Syria as soon as possible.

　　Habu Bati also said that the Syrian government is ready to send rescue forces to all areas of the country, including areas controlled by the opposition.

"We don't discriminate against any Syrian people, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent belongs to all Syrian people ... If they (the opposition) open the way for us, we go, there is no problem."

　　Mohammad Omari, an expert on Syrian political issues, believes that the economic sanctions imposed on Syria by the United States and other Western countries have not only prevented the Syrian people from obtaining basic living security, but also weakened the ability of Syrian public institutions to provide basic services such as water and electricity.

　　UN Secretary-General Guterres previously stated that many victims of the disaster live in areas where assistance is difficult to access, and they are in dire need of a large amount of humanitarian assistance. The earthquake made the already severe humanitarian rescue situation even worse.

The United Nations counts on the international community to lend a helping hand to help the thousands of people affected by the disaster.

　　In the bleak winter, the lifting of sanctions has become the hopeless hope of the people in the disaster-stricken areas of Syria.

People crowded the streets of Aleppo.

Due to the lack of rescue equipment, most of them are helpless against the ruins mixed with steel and concrete. They can only pay attention to the next person to be carried out of the ruins, hoping that the ones who will be rescued are their relatives and friends.

　　China News Service (CNS1952) synthesized from: Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News Client, Red Star News, The Paper, etc.

　　(WeChat public account of China News Service)