Citation

Howard S. BMJ 2023; 380: p373.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bmj.p373

PMID

36792138

Abstract

Getting humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach survivors in the rebel held north east of Syria has become a priority, the World Health Organization and United Nations have said, as the toll from the recent earthquakes mounts across Turkey and Syria.

WHO said it welcomed the decision of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to open two border crossing points into north western Syria for humanitarian aid to reach rebel held areas, but that the scale of the humanitarian challenge in reaching the five million people affected by the earthquakes remained enormous.

Over 36 000 people are dead, with hundreds of thousands injured and left homeless, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep on 6 February and was followed by a 7.5 magnitude second earthquake centred around the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras. More than 285 aftershocks have been felt, razing buildings across a swathe of south eastern Turkey and western Syria, including regions under the control of rebels...

Language: en