UN Humanitarian chief to visit quake-hit Türkiye, Syria

A member of the China Search and Rescue Team carries out operation on earthquake debris in Antakya in the southern province of Hatay, Türkiye, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shadati)

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator will visit Gaziantep in southern Türkiye and Aleppo in northwestern Syria this weekend.

GENEVA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths is set to travel to areas in Türkiye and Syria affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes, which killed and injured thousands of people.

This weekend, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator will visit Gaziantep in southern Türkiye and Aleppo in northwestern Syria.

"The Under-Secretary-General will show solidarity with the people of both countries, thank the UN teams on the ground and garner more support for the ongoing relief effort, as humanitarian needs continue to grow," announced the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths speaks at a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie E)

The first UN convoy since the earthquake crossed from Türkiye into north-west Syria through Bab al Hawa on Thursday at noon local time, OCHA said. The convoy included six trucks carrying shelter items and non-food kits from the International Organization for Migration.

OCHA said that so far at least 108 search and rescue teams, both from the UN and other international organizations, have been deployed in Türkiye, with a total of 6,479 personnel and 212 search dogs. Another 60 international teams are on their way.

The devastating earthquakes which struck Türkiye and Syria on Monday have so far killed more than 20,000 people in the two countries, according to the latest data.

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in the al-Masharqa neighborhood of Aleppo city, northern Syria, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)