Earthquake displaces over 171,000 people in Syria: humanitarian group

A Syrian humanitarian organisation has reported at least 171,843 people were displaced in northwestern Syria as a result of last week's earthquakes centred in southeastern Türkiye.

"The UN aid is still within the minimum limits, where only 114 trucks have reached in one week, 93 percent of which came through the Bab al Hawa crossing, despite the opening of two additional crossings," the Syria Response Coordination said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that an additional 24 international trucks were expected to enter through the Bab al Hawa and Bab al Salameh crossings.

The organisation spoke of "general dissatisfaction in the region with the delay in the arrival of humanitarian aid from the UN," noting that the UN aid "did not exceed 25 percent of the total aid that entered northwestern Syria."

The organisation criticised "the great politicization" of incoming humanitarian aid, especially international, as well as the directing of large amounts of relief to regime-controlled areas, which received "90% of the aid for the victims of the earthquake."

In Syria, at least  5,814, people were killed and over 14,749 injured by two strong earthquakes that jolted southeastern Türkiye on February 6.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors last week were centred in the province of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Türkiye, impacting a larger area and over 13 million inhabitants.

READ MORE: Aid focus turns to homeless in aftermath of Türkiye quakes