Thousands were killed in Syria by the earthquake that hit the country’s border area with Türkiye on Feb. 6. Aid has been slow to reach impacted areas in Syria. The country has endured a 12-year civil war, further complicating aid efforts. Western sanctions add challenges to an already dire situation. 

The U.N. says the people of northwest Syria "rightly feel abandoned" in the wake of a devastating earthquake.  

The area is largely rebel-controlled, hindering access.  

President Bashar Al-Assad has insisted all international aid to Syria enter via government-controlled territory.  

One hardline rebel group has blocked such aid shipments, saying it will not approve aid from government areas.  

The alternative is aid entering through Türkiye, where there is currently just one open crossing in the northwest.

Meanwhile, there are calls for the United Nations Security Council to approve opening additional crossings.  

Rebel groups also obstructed aid on Thursday that came from Kurdish-held territories.  

Syrians caught in the middle have suffered. 

“It is important, as I said, that we get more resources, that we get assistance in cross-line and cross-border. As I said, our focus now is on helping the Syrian people” said Geir Pedersen, the U.N.’s envoy to Syria. 

To isolate the Assad government in 2011, Western countries imposed economic sanctions on Syria. 

While the sanctions do not target humanitarian aid, they do block delivery of equipment like excavators.

Without such equipment, rescuers have limited ability to pull people from the rubble.  

Syrians were ill-prepared to respond to the disaster.  

"(I was told) Karam, Nour and their mother are under the rubble. We kept searching for two days to get them out. According to the Lebanese forensic doctor, Karam died on the second day because the blood on his face was fresh. I'm sad." Said Nader Fadil to Reuters, he lost his wife and two of his children in the earthquake.
Sahar Suliman, an earthquake survivor told AFP "I have a broken leg, but they could not perform the operation because the equipment is broken. I know that any failure is not the hospital's fault rather it is due to a lack of equipment."

On Feb. 9, the U.S. issued a six-month sanctions exemption for earthquake transactions.  

Arab countries, in addition to China, the EU, Cuba and Russia, have all sent aid to Syria. 

For now, Syrians remain victims, both of natural disaster, and the politics fueling their internal division.

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