Syria Approves Earthquake Aid to Rebel Region

Facts

• The Syrian government said Friday it approved the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country's earthquake-hit rebel-held northwest region, adding that its delivery should be supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Red Crescent, with UN oversight.¹
• Syria's northwest inhabits an estimated more than 4M people who already required aid before the earthquake, though its government-controlled areas haven't received deliveries in three weeks.²
• This comes as the UN, which has been bypassing government-held territory and delivering aid to the region through Turkey since 2014, has been pushing for aid to move more freely, though Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad has long opposed cross-border operations.³
• As the 7.8 magnitude earthquake's death toll between Syria and Turkey surpassed 25k on Saturday, the Syrian Red Crescent reported that Bangladesh had sent a cargo plane of food, medicine, and blankets to Damascus this week ahead of the government's announcement.⁴
• Dozens of planes carrying aid have arrived in government-held areas since Monday, but little has yet to reach those in need in the northwest. Syrian state media said the areas worst affected were Latakia, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib, for which it would set up a rehabilitation fund.²
• The turmoil has been ongoing since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, stemming from pro-democracy protests that erupted amid the Arab Spring uprisings in neighboring countries. The UN estimates the 12-year war has left 70% of Syrians in need of aid.⁵

Sources: ¹Terradaily, ²Al Jazeera, ³Reuters, ⁴Sky news and ⁵Republic world.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Abc news. As he's still demanding aid be delivered through his controlled areas, this is just another political stunt by Bashar al-Assad in his attempt to get international sanctions against him lifted. His brutal war has left 90% of his people impoverished, and now upwards of 5M could become homeless due to the earthquake. The West should stand firm in its demand that humanitarian aid is given directly to those most affected, whether they're rebel regions or not.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Newsrescue.com. Though they were finally lifted days after the earthquake hit, the US sanctions against Syria have played a significant role in the Arab nation's poor humanitarian response. After spending years bombing civilians and occupying the country's oil land, the US — imposing its will on the Syrian people — has left the struggling nation ill-equipped to respond to this disaster. Neither side is innocent in this tragedy.