United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday described the earthquakes that have struck Turkey and Syria as «one of the greatest natural disasters of our time».
Guterres reiterated that he is fully aware that the full extent of the damage and humanitarian crisis unfolding before the eyes of the world is not yet known, he told a press conference.
In this regard, he has remarked that people in the region are facing «a nightmare on top of another nightmare», assuring that southern Turkey has been characterized for years by hosting Syrian refugees.
«In my visits (to the region) I was deeply moved by the solidarity of the people who opened their homes and their hearts. Now those homes have been destroyed and those hearts are being broken,» Guterres has asserted.
In the face of «this epic disaster,» he made a «strong appeal» to the international community to show the people of Turkey and Syria the «same kind of support and generosity with which they received, protected and helped millions of refugees and displaced people in a huge show of solidarity.»
Earlier, the UN secretary-general detailed that the first UN aid convoy entered northern Syria. This included six trucks carrying shelter and other relief supplies that were «desperately» needed.
«There is more aid on the way, but much, much more is needed,» Guterres recounted, lamenting «the loss of so many» as the death toll continues to rise.
The earthquakes have caused since Monday about 17,000 dead in Turkey, 1,262 in areas of Syria controlled by the government of Bashar al-Assad and another 1,970 in rebel-held areas of Idlib and Aleppo (northwest) provinces, according to various balances published during the last hours.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
