Today, Thursday, the first UN aid convoy entered northern Idlib, consisting of 6 trucks, carrying foodstuffs and cleaning materials, through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.
The media official at the Bab al-Hawa crossing, Mazen Alloush, told AFP that the first aid convoy from the United Nations "entered today, 4 days after the earthquake," noting that it was expected to arrive before the disaster.
For his part, Obeida Dandoush, a humanitarian activist, said that aid "was stopped in the city of Reyhanli in southern Turkey a few days ago" of the earthquake disaster, which claimed the lives of more than 16,000 people and left tens of thousands injured, and its effects extended to millions of residents in the two countries.
He added - in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that the aid is not to face the disasters left by the earthquake, but only carries some cleaning materials for the camps in Idlib, northwestern Syria.
In a related context, the UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, confirmed that the first aid had been obtained today, Thursday, through the Bab al-Hawa crossing into Syria, adding, "We have obtained guarantees that we can pass the first humanitarian aid."
Pedersen indicated that the United Nations is doing everything in its power to "ensure that there are no obstacles in rescue operations," calling for "non-politicization" of aid.
And a UN official warned yesterday, Wednesday, that "the United Nations stockpile in the region is sufficient to feed 100,000 people for one week."
And at dawn last Monday, an earthquake measuring 7.7 degrees on the Richter scale hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed hours later by another with a magnitude of 7.6 and hundreds of violent aftershocks, leaving huge losses in lives and property in both countries.
Rescue efforts are continuing in the two countries amid great difficulties, heavy rains and aftershocks.
According to the latest official data, the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey rose to 12,873, and the injured to 62,937.
In Syria, the death toll has risen to 3,162 across the country, and the number of injured has reached 5,685.