Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that 70 countries and 14 international organizations, including the US, UK, UAE, Israel and Russia, have offered aid to Turkey after the earthquake.
The international aid situation in Syria is less clear.
Syria is ruled by a myriad of different groups. Some areas of Syria most affected by the earthquake controlled by the government of President Bashar al-Assadby Turkish-backed, US-backed opposition forces, Kurdish rebels and Sunni Islamist fighters. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an armed Sunni Islamist group.
The Assad regime has been internationally sidelined and severely sanctioned for its brutal suppression of the uprising that began in 2011, and considers Iran and Russia its closest allies.
The regime insists that all aid to the country, including aid to areas outside its control, should be directed to the capital, Damascus.
According to the United Nations, this has not been welcomed by activists and observers who fear the regime will prevent timely assistance for thousands of earthquake victims in rebel-held areas. Most are women and children.
So far, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and India have sent relief supplies directly to regime-controlled airports. Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, China, Canada, and the Vatican have also pledged aid, but it is unclear whether that aid will go directly to the regime.
Earlier Wednesday, the Syrian government deployed more than 100 aid stations with aid supplies for people affected by the earthquake across government-controlled areas, including cities such as Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Tartus and the coastal city of Latakia. He announced that he had set up a shelter. It is the deadliest earthquake ever recorded in Syria, with more than 100 buildings destroyed.
