President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem Al-Meslet, President of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, Badr Jamous, and the executive director of the Assistance Coordination Unit, Muhammad Hasno, held a press conference in the town of Jinderes in rural Aleppo, where they discussed the latest developments in the disaster that has affected the Turkish and Syrian peoples.
Al-Meslet emphasized the scale of the tragedy, stating that the number of victims has reached nearly 5,000 and that this doubles the responsibility of those involved. He expressed concern about the lack of response from the United Nations and its institutions a full week after the earthquake, questioning their role in the disaster. Al-Meslet called for a humanitarian response without politicization, urging for all border crossings to be opened immediately without restriction or condition to allow aid convoys to reach those affected.
Al-Meslet criticized the United Nations’ lack of impartiality, noting that they sent aid to Damascus and regime-held areas without reaching northwestern Syria. He demanded that the United Nations be present in northwestern Syria, as sending aid to the regime without reaching the affected is another disaster.
Jamous stressed the urgent need for international aid for the people in northwestern Syria, emphasizing the terrible destruction that has befallen the region. He thanked the response of sister and friendly countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, for their aid and support.
Hasno highlighted the inadequacy of the previous United Nations mechanism of action and called for effective coordination and engagement in a single mechanism to achieve social justice. He pointed out that the United Nations aid was scheduled in the early days of the disaster, but it did not arrive, leaving the civil defense in dire need of heavy machinery and equipment to save victims and supply hospitals lacking medical and surgical materials.
Al-Meslet thanked the Syrian people for their humanity and assistance to those affected, as well as all sister and friendly countries that sent aid. He praised the efforts of the Syrian Interim Government, the Assistance Coordination Unit, the Syrian National Army, and the Civil Defense in rescuing victims and called for coordination of work and concerted efforts to alleviate the suffering of the population after this great disaster.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
