The organization Syrian Civil Defense, known as ‘white helmets’, has accused the United Nations on Friday of being «on the side» of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, assuring that no humanitarian aid has arrived in rebel-held areas.
«The United Nations is on the side of the government, not the people (…) the UN should apologize to the people,» said the leader of the Syrian Civil Defense, Raed Saleh, in a video conference with journalists picked up by the DPA agency.
In this regard, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, said that a shipment of aid arrived on Thursday, although «still missing» tents for shelter and equipment to remove debris.
Likewise, Mustafa Dahnon, an activist from the Syrian city of Idlib who was at the border crossing, assured the aforementioned agency that the aid trucks were mainly carrying blankets and rugs to keep people warm.
«We need tents. If we have blankets and rugs and no tents, where will people sleep?» he wondered.
The United Nations on Thursday sent a first convoy of humanitarian aid to the rebel-held area in northwestern Syria through the Bab al Hawa border crossing. This included six trucks with relief supplies and sheds, although UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that «more aid is on the way.»
So far, the earthquakes have left around 3,424 people dead and more than 5,200 injured in Syria, according to figures provided by the health authorities of the government of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the ‘white helmets’ and located in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo (northwest).
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
