The US, UK, and France are pushing ahead with a new resolution in the UN Security Council to step up supplying Syrian areas not controlled by Damascus, while ignoring the plight of the territories most affected by the quake, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday. In addition, the nation's economy has been severely hit by Western sanctions. "Western sanctions destroyed all the structure of Syria, especially in the field of oil, energy and electricity," Samiha Shalati, Syrian political and social activist, told Sputnik. "We have many difficulties in providing electrical supplies for the hospitals, which is very important for the doctors, for the physicians to work and help patients. As you know, oil is banned from coming to Syria under the Caesar Act. So you can imagine how difficult the situation is because the ambulance and machines, all they need, are all out of work and they need oil to work, of course. And without supplying them with the oil, which we need to be ready, especially for helping people in the earthquake in this emergency case."
On February 6, parts of Turkiye and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks which claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 people, most of them in Turkiye. However, US sanctions directly prevented the Syrian victims from receiving assistance in the first 72 hours. The Caesar Act, adopted by the Trump administration in 2019, is blocking imports of essential goods like food, energy, and basic medical supplies and equipment to the country.
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