Syria earthquake | Syria also activates the civil protection mechanism and asks the EU for help

by time news

He government of syria It has also activated the civil protection mechanism and has requested help from the European Union as a result of the earthquake suffered last Monday. As confirmed by the commissioner responsible for crisis management, Janez Lenarcicthe formal request has arrived this Wednesday and includes a “long list of elements” to support the services of search y victim rescue, from teams doctors until foods, which they have already transmitted to the 27 and other countries participating in the mechanism. “We ask member states and other states to give a favorable response. This assistance is for people who need it and it has to reach them”, he insisted, guaranteeing that they will ensure that the aid is not diverted and reaches those who need it.

“There is nothing that can hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid when it comes to a situation of emergency like this”, added the community manager, alluding to the impediment that the sanctions policy applied by the EU against Syria since 2011. Lenarcic recalled that the humanitarian situation has been, for more than a decade, “very serious” and that after the earthquake suffered this week, which has left more than 10,000 dead in Turkey and in the North African country, it is going to get worse.

According to Brussels, before the earthquake there were about 14.6 million people in need of help in Syria and almost two thirds of the population suffers food shortage, something that has also caused massive displacements. At least 6.9 million Syrians are internally displaced and more than 5.5 million have fled the country. According to him World Food Program (WFP), in June food prices were 45% higher than in January and almost doubled in one year. A situation that has also been aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sanctions since 2011

The EU decided to impose sanctions against the Bashar al-Assad government in response to the violent repression of the civilian population in 2011. On the list of those sanctioned, according to the latest update of the Council carried out at the end of December, are 289 personas to which both the asset freeze and the EU travel ban apply as well as 70 entities to which the immobilization of assets applies. “The EU is accused of having an impact on humanitarian aid with its sanctions” but “these sanctions have been in place since 2011 and were imposed in response to the violent repression of the Syrian government against its population, which had even used chemical weapons,” Lenarcic explained.

The restrictive measures, which have been extended until June 2023, include a ban on importing Petroleumrestrictions to certain investmentsthe immobilization of the syrian central bank assets maintained in the EU and restrictions on the export of equipment and technology that can be used for internal repression, as well as a ban on importing equipment and technology intended to monitor or intercept telephone or internet communications, as well as a ban on exporting luxury goods to Syria.

So far 20 Member States, plus three other non-EU countries, have offered support to the civil protection mechanism. The offer includes “36 rescue and medical teams that include 1,500 people, both medical and rescue managers, and more than 1,000 rescue dogs that are especially important in these circumstances,” Lenarcic has detailed about aid that they have already begun to deploy. in Turkey based on requests made by Ankara.

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