Today, February 6, 2023, A devastating earthquake struck southern Turkey, and its repercussions reached Syria with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale.

On the Syrian side, the earthquake hit the opposition-controlled areas, which are populated by about 4 million civilians who have been displaced from the conflict areas in Syria. The earthquake affected Latakia, Aleppo, Hama and Tartous.

The humanitarian situation in northern Syria is tragic, due to the lack of capabilities and the inability of medical institutions to respond to tragedy, where hundreds of victims are dead, unaccounted for, and homeless, along the 58 towns affected by the repercussions of the earthquake, and most of its buildings were subjected to total or partial collapse. According to activists and members of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, entire families are still under the rubble, where distress calls are heard, and relatives of the victims are making attempts to save them, considering the delay of the civil defense teams, and their weak capabilities.

The Civil Defense Corporation, the White Helmets, has declared northwestern Syria a disaster zone. The situation is catastrophic in all the areas affected by the earthquake, the worst of which is in the northwestern regions of Syria. The scale of the disaster is exacerbated by the weak response of the Civil Defense Corporation, due to the lack of capabilities, the unavailability of shelters and safe gathering points, in addition to the freezing weather conditions.

The civil defense, the concerned organizations, and the Syrian women and men throughout the Syrian area need help in all fields, especially regarding heavy equipment, empowering the medical sector, opening the Syrian-Turkish border, to receive the wounded, provide urgent humanitarian aid, and provide shelter for the affected families.

The Syrian Women’s Political Movement extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims in Syria and Turkey. We call on all countries to stand by their responsibilities in the face of this catastrophe, and to take emergency measures to limit the aggravation of the situation and contribute to saving civilians in Syria.

Peace and mercy to the souls of the victims

And speedy recovery to the wounded

General Secretariat of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement

Monday, February 6, 2023