Amnesty International reported on Monday that the Syrian government and Turkish-backed factions prevented over 100 trucks carrying aid from reaching two earthquake-hit areas in Aleppo province, blocking the delivery of food, medical supplies, tents and fuel sent by Kurdish authorities over a two-week period in February.
While the Syrian government blocked trucks carrying essential supplies from entering Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Aleppo city, Turkish-backed factions prevented 30 trucks carrying fuel and other supplies from entering Afrin, an enclave held by Turkish forces and their proxies since 2018.
The politicisation of relief efforts has tragic consequences, especially for search and recovery teams that require fuel to operate machinery, according to Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub.
Although some areas of Aleppo are under government control, Kurdish-led local administrations run semi-autonomous neighborhoods such as Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, while Turkish-backed armed factions control others.
The hostility has remained since the earthquake disaster, which killed around 6,000 people across northern Syria. The aid blockades by the Syrian and Turkish-backed forces have exacerbated the crisis, causing further suffering to earthquake victims in desperate need.