PUTRAJAYA: Forty-two tonnes of humanitarian aid from Malaysia has arrived at the Aleppo International Airport of Syria.
The items, which include four generators, medications, tents, carpets and indoor separators, personal protective equipment, clothing and blankets, baby needs as well as ready-to-eat food, are meant for the earthquake victims.
They were sent on two special flights operated by the Malaysian Armed Forces, using the A400M military transporters, and a plane chartered from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Red Crescent on Friday.
Malaysian Foreign Affairs Ministry (Wisma Putra) said the aid – a contribution of Malaysia and UAE – would be distributed to the victims by Syrian Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross.
“The aid is to fulfil the urgent need of the earthquake victims based on the evaluation report by the recce team from Malaysia after meetings with the Syrian government and other related parties from Feb 15 to 19,” it added in a statement, reported by Bernama, yesterday.
On Wednesday, a 110kV generator was provided to Syria through the help of the recce team, headed by Deputy Secretary-General for Bilateral Affairs Datuk Norman Muhamad and the Malaysian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
The generator was handed over by Malaysia’s Honorary Council in Syria Datuk Samir AlKour to Syria’s Local Government and Environment Minister Hussein Makhlouf.
Wisma Putra said the Malaysian government is committed in the effort to deliver humanitarian assistance to Syria based on the comprehensive report from the recce team to ensure the aid fulfils the needs of the victims.
On Feb 6, two quakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale centred at the Kahramanmaras province in south Turkiye also jolted Syria.
Latest official figures indicate at least 50,000 people died in both countries with the highest death toll in Turkiye with at least 46,000 people killed.
