UN: We Have Let Down the Victims in Northwestern Syria

The United Nations acknowledged its failure to assist thousands of Syrian civilians and its inability to deliver aid to the victims in northern Syria, following the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria last Monday, claiming nearly 30,000 lives and displacing thousands. Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, stated that the organization has let down the residents of northwestern Syria. He tweeted: "They are right to feel abandoned... they are looking for international assistance that never arrived." He added, "We are committed to correcting our failure in northwestern Syria as soon as possible." Additionally, UNICEF confirmed that the humanitarian needs in northern Syria are enormous and can only be met through international cooperation. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in an interview with Reuters that the transfer of relief aid from government-controlled areas to opposition-held territories is hindered by issues in obtaining approval from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.