ANKARA, Feb 9 – Türkiye is working to open two more border gates with Syria to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid to its neighbour which was also struck by massive earthquakes, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.
“Cilvegozu border gate is open. We are working to open two more gates… We also provide the necessary support for the aid to reach Syria,” Cavusoglu told reporters at a joint news conference attended by Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, reported Xinhua.
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the road leading to the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing from Türkiye to northern Syria was damaged, and the aid delivery to the rebel-held northwest was temporarily disrupted.
The United Nations is preparing a convoy to cross into Syria, but that would likely require a new agreement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, Dujarric added.
Bab al-Hawa, across Türkiye’s Cilvegozu gate, is the only crossing through which UN aid is allowed into the area.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Türkiye’s southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4.17 am local time (0117 GMT), followed by a magnitude-7.6 quake at 1.24 pm local time (1024 GMT) in the same province.
The death toll from Monday’s devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye and northern Syria has surpassed 12,000.
Many countries and global aid agencies are offering rescue teams and relief supplies to quake-hit regions in Türkiye and Syria.
