Ghada Al-Taher Mudawi, Deputy Director of the Operations and Advocacy Department at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that the international humanitarian organization's appeal to respond to the earthquake in Syria is funded by only 17% so far, while aftershocks continued after two new earthquakes that occurred in Hatay, southern Turkey, the day before yesterday, Monday.

Mudawi stressed that the humanitarian situation in northwestern Syria was difficult even before the earthquake, as food prices were rising, and after the earthquake, the prices of basic commodities, such as bread, lentils, vegetables, sugar and rice, rose sharply.

The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) of the United Nations estimated the number of people dependent on humanitarian support in northern Syria at more than 4 million, and ESCWA said in a new report that 9 million people were affected in Syria as a result of the earthquake.

The UN report called for facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to all parts of Syria and increasing the support provided.

The Secretary-General of the German "Relief for the World's Hungry" Matthias Moujh said - yesterday, Tuesday - that support for those affected by the earthquake is still very limited, especially in northwestern Syria.

He added that opening more border crossings between Turkey and Syria marked the beginning, "but now relief supplies, such as water, medicine, food and tents, must be delivered quickly and in sufficient quantities."

In the same context, the Syrian Networks Association said - in a press conference held in the city of Jenderes - that the United Nations' insistence on coordinating all response efforts with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and providing assistance only after obtaining the green light from it led to wasting precious time in the response process. It has caused avoidable death and suffering to thousands of Syrians.

The United Nations says that more than 4,500 people were killed and 8,300 injured in northwestern Syria as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6, while the death toll in Turkey rose to 42,310 people.

Eleven Turkish states were affected by the two earthquakes, with the first quake measuring 7.7 degrees, and the second 7.6 degrees on the Richter scale, followed by thousands of violent aftershocks.

The Syrian Civil Defense also reported that 190 people were injured as a result of the two new earthquakes that struck the center of the Dafna and Samandag regions in Hatay, southern Turkey, last Monday evening, as the first measured 6.4 and the second measured 5.8 on the Richter scale.

aftershocks

In Turkey, the number of victims of the two new earthquakes - which were followed by more than 190 aftershocks - rose to 6 dead and about 562 injured, 18 of whom are in serious condition.

The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said that a new aftershock of 4.1 degrees occurred today, Wednesday, with a magnitude of 4.1, centered on Kahramanmaraş, and the Turkish Seismological Institute announced another aftershock of 4.5 degrees on the Richter scale, centered in the southern Turkish state of Diyarbakir. .


New legislation in Turkey

On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the time has come to take firm decisions and legislation to protect against upcoming earthquakes, and revealed draft laws restricting the construction of more than 3 floors in high-risk areas.

Yesterday, Tuesday, Erdogan inspected a city of prefabricated housing to house those affected by the earthquake in the reformatory district of Gaziantep state, and he was accompanied on his visit by the leader of the National Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that 865,000 people are currently living in tents and 23,500 in containers, while 376,000 live in student cities and public guesthouses outside the quake zone.

The Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Turkey, Louisa Fenton, said that up to 210 million tons of rubble from many collapsed buildings would have to be removed.