Northwestern #Syria — #Idlib & #Aleppo in particular — have suffered 12yrs of brutal conflict. More than 65% of the basic infrastructure of the area is destroyed or heavily damaged.
Tonight’s earthquake couldn’t have hit a more vulnerable region.
Utterly horrific reports coming from all across NW #Syria - every town I’ve heard from has dozens of buildings flattened. People stuck under the rubble.
Any many, many casualties — including children.
@SyriaCivilDefe will be heroes tonight, working amid heavy rain & sleet.
I’ve heard from x3 hospitals in #Idlib & N. #Aleppo — all are full, every bed taken by emergency cases following tonight’s earthquake.
As rescuers & civilians seek to extract people & belongings from rubble, there’s mass panic about aftershocks.
NW #Syria is home to the world’s biggest & most acute humanitarian crisis — & thanks to #Russia, the international community can provide aid through only one crossing point, to 4.5 million people.
Disaster response isn’t part of that equation & #Assad’s regime won’t give any.
#Turkey has requested international emergency assistance & they should get it ASAP.
But a major global effort needs to mobilize *now* to assist #NW#Syria - a semi-besieged, war-scarred region with 4.5 million of the worlds most vulnerable people.
But it’ll require bold action.
If #Assad’s regime had its way, NW #Syria would be besieged into brutal submission. It opposes *any* humanitarian aid.
An international disaster relief operation would require acting unilaterally — otherwise this population will remain abandoned to fend for themselves. Again.
One single hospital in one town of NW #Syria (in #Atareb) has reported 18 deaths already — per @sams_usa.
At a rough count, I’ve seen ~25 more deaths reported elsewhere, but expect these numbers to rise, I fear considerably.
BREAKING - sustained and very strong aftershock just now at the epicenter of last night’s earthquake in S #Turkey & NW #Syria.
That’s what everyone feared, as rescues continue & structures struggled to stand.
The latest death tolls from #Syria total 850+ dead — but the number is likely to rise markedly, as rescue operations continue apace & that aftershock will have made things a lot worse.
What an unfathomable disaster, amid winter & a spiraling economic collapse.
The Turkish Army, which has 70+ positions across #Idlib, is dispatching rescue teams with heavy equipment to rescue civilians under the rubble.
One source told me “100s” probably “1,000s” are buried under collapsed buildings - many alive & screaming for help.
One @sams_usa hospital in Atareb in W. #Aleppo has reported 89 dead with "many more" serious cases evacuated to Bab al-Hawa on the #Turkey border.
That's from one town, 150km from the epicenter.
@sams_usa This is what remains of an orphanage in #Sarmada, #Idlib -- one young child was killed & 5 injured.
50 others, by some miracle, managed to escape unhurt.
@sams_usa#Turkey death toll has reach 1,121 & 7,634 more wounded. A total of 2,834 buildings have been completely destroyed.
In #Syria, we're looking at 900+ dead, but the rescue efforts are struggling capacity-wise & the infrastructure was far more vulnerable.
What a tragedy.
@sams_usa In #Salqin, #Idlib -- this boy was trapped under the collapsed upper floor of a multi-story building, his body hanging over the edge.
By some miracle, he's been extracted alive.
@sams_usa Here are 2 comments I've heard this morning from NW #Syria, that place this catastrophe in its broader horrific context:
- "Those living in tents are the lucky ones."
- "At least we're not being bombed this time, while we rescue people in the rubble."
@sams_usa Bear in mind that NW #Syria is currently home to ~2.8 million displaced people -- a majority of whom reside in IDP camps.
Most of the camps were already over-capacity, but the scale of destruction caused by this earthquake is going to see camps swell more than ever before.
@sams_usa I'm seeing lots of pledges of international support & disaster relief to #Turkey -- & a #Russia mission to help #Damascus.
But no indication of any international effort to assist the 5 million most vulnerable people in NW #Syria.
Yes it's complex, but it's urgently needed.
@sams_usa This is a residential area on the outskirts of Harem in #Idlib.
24hrs ago, there were 25 separate 5-storey buildings -- but today, it's all rubble.
Locals say 500-700 may have died in Harem, altogether.
@sams_usa "Thousands" of homes have been destroyed in NW #Syria -- meaning 10,000s of civilians are likely now homeless, without any form of shelter.
IDP camps look likely to swell, while they're already far beyond capacity.
Meanwhile, the UN says cross-border aid has been hit hard.
@sams_usa Prior to the earthquake, the UN said cross-border aid into NW #Syria was only 40% funded.
Now the main road leading to Bab al-Hawa has been heavily damaged, which will severely curtail meaningful aid flows.
The displacement & humanitarian crisis is spiraling as you read this.
@sams_usa I just saw a video from #Antakya Hospital in southern #Turkey -- there must have been 100+ dead bodies filling multiple hallways, each covered with blankets.
A complete disaster.
@sams_usa The #HTS-linked Salvation Government in #Idlib has issued a public call for foreign journalists & news channels to "cover the disaster left by the earthquake."
"We affirm our readiness to coordinate & arrange media work for all media outlets & journalists," they say.
@sams_usa The death toll in NW #Syria has risen to 700, with 2,000+ wounded.
@SyriaCivilDefe says "hundreds" more bodies remain stuck under rubble, so this toll will continue to rise.
Evacuation of critical patients to #Turkey was ended overnight.
The White Helmets are running out of diesel to operate heavy equipment.
IDP camps taking in a mass of newly homeless, displaced people.
@sams_usa@SyriaCivilDefe@WHO When #Russia periodically threatens to end cross-border aid access into NW #Syria, the UN & NGOs warn of an "unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe."
Well, now we have no cross-border aid access AND a catastrophic earthquake, mass destruction & 1,000s of casualties IN WINTER.
@sams_usa@SyriaCivilDefe@WHO A major aftershock just hit southern #Turkey & NW #Syria -- described by locals as equivalent in severity to the first two earthquakes.
The town was hit hard by the earthquake & people are still being rescued.
This child’s entire family were killed in the earthquake — and by some miracle, she survived, but left an orphan.
Born into a 12yr-old war & confronted with the ugly reality this world can represent.
No more words.
Imagine living through 12yrs of horrendous, brutal conflict — like #Ukraine every year, 12 times, with chemical weapons too — then as things calm just slightly, you get hit by a catastrophic earthquake that flattens the little that survived the last decade.
This baby girl was born under the rubble of her home in #Afrin in NW #Syria — rescuers discovered her this afternoon, still attached by her umbilical cord to her mother, who had tragically died.
#Israel's strike in #Damascus today is a huge development & a major escalation.
3 #IRGC-QF Generals:
- Brig. Gen. Mohammed Zahedi (Commander, #Syria & #Lebanon)
- Gen. Hossein Aminullah (Chief of General Staff, #Syria & #Lebanon)
- Maj. Gen. Haj Rahimi (Commander, Palestine)
Since the Feb 7 U.S. strike in #Baghdad, we've had zero confirmed #Iran proxy attacks on U.S. bases in #Iraq & #Syria.
It's quite likely that freeze could now end. The #IRGC has often used U.S. "soft targets" in #Iraq & #Syria as one form of retaliation for #Israel's actions.
For months, Iranian ballistic missiles, cruise missiles & suicide drones have targeted Israeli & U.S. targets in #Iraq, #Syria, the Gulf & #Israel itself -- but all launched from outside #Iran's territory.
There's not nearly enough appreciation of how #ISIS's branches have increased & enhanced their interconnectivity over the past ~18 months.
From #Africa, through the #MiddleEast & into South & SE Asia, lines of logistics, recruitment, financing & plotting overlap more than ever.
Multiple #ISIS wilayat in #Africa have recruitment & logistics lines running into #Europe & #ISIS finance bodies in #Africa have been supporting operatives as far as #Afghanistan.
Recent #ISIS plots in #Europe have been tied back to #Africa, the #MiddleEast & #Afghanistan.
In 2023, multiple #ISIS-related attack plots were foiled in northern #Europe -- most unreported, almost all linked to #ISKP.
BUT, those #ISKP plots were 1st detected *outside* #Afghanistan, underlining the group's transnational reach -- as I wrote here:
Since 2012, #Iran has been building & consolidating a formidable network of proxies across #Syria & #Iraq -- dozens of groups & 150,000+ members, all financed, trained & armed by the #IRGC.
In #Syria, they engaged in ethnic cleansing & war crimes -- completely unchallenged.
During the formative years of 2012-16, #Obama's admin consciously ignored the #IRGC's militia surge in #Syria -- dismissing it as unimportant to U.S. interests.
In 2015, orders were even granted for U.S. forces to deconflict & coordinate with #Iran's proxies in #Iraq, vs. #ISIS.
For a time ('15-17), U.S. forces fighting #ISIS in #Iraq were effectively told to coordinate with the very same groups who'd killed 100s of U.S. troops from '03-'10 & who are again back to targeting us today.
What a staggering indictment of U.S. inconsistency & ill-judgment.
The same has been true in #Syria, #Yemen & many other acute conflict zones.
The @StateDept has told Congress the #Gaza HM data is an undercount. Why? Because in every previous conflict its data has been +/- 1-3% off post-conflict analysis by #Israel, the U.S., the EU & the UN.
@StateDept Are #Hamas combatant casualties being accurately acknowledged? Clearly not — but that doesn’t affect civilian casualty rates.
With ~20,000 strikes in 6 weeks, much in dense urban environments, it’s hardly surprising that ~15,000 civilians would be dead.
#Putin [rightly] gets slammed for firing cruise missiles into residential buildings in #Ukraine, but when #Israel vaporizes an entire residential block, it's ok & "like the tunnels of Chu Chi."
I'm sorry, but if our principles can't be universal, they count for nothing.
#Hamas' evil massacre in #Israel revealed its true colors -- and the group deserves & requires rooting out.
But a scorched earth campaign in which civilians are paying the overwhelming price is a recipe for disaster. We're watching Hamas 2.0's seeds being sown, bomb by bomb.
We can't viscerally oppose #Assad's sieges in #Syria but accept them in #Gaza & we can't condemn the targeting of residential tower blocks in #Ukraine but turn a blind eye when they're turned to rubble in #Gaza.
Countering extremism requires consistency in values, not hypocrisy.
As fighting escalates further in Deir ez Zour, reports suggest the #SDF has lost 18+ villages & towns to tribal forces.
Since the Akeidat calls earlier today, there are also reports of amassed Arab #SDF defections to the tribes, handing over checkpoints.
Serious, serious news.
Meanwhile, the #SDF continues to dispatch fighters from #Raqqa & #Hasakeh, along with heavy equipment (including U.S.-made Humvees & Bearcats) to confront the tribal uprising in Deir ez Zour.
The tribes control roadways down south though - multiple IED/RPG ambushes yesterday.