Press Releases

02/06/2023

Earthquake in Syria and Turkey

Stop the attacks, allow for humanitarian aid!

Following the severe earthquakes in northern Syria and in Turkey, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls for timely aid for the Kurdish-controlled regions. “The German Federal Government should demand Turkey to stop attacking northern Syria – thus allowing to search for survivors,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant, in Göttingen on Monday. “The border crossings with Turkey have to remain open to allow for international humanitarian aid to the region.”

Currently, most of the region of Afrin doesn’t have any phone or internet access. Thus, it is hardly possible to get any reliable information on the number of victims. However, photos and videos that can be found on the internet give an impression of the widespread destruction. “The disaster aid offered by many states – even from Israel, among others – must not be rejected based on ideological grounds. Life-saving measures must have priority,” Sido stated. “Neither the Turkish nor the Syrian government are interested in providing – or even allowing – aid for the Kurdish-controlled areas. Thus, it is all the more important to ensure that the Federal Republic of Germany and other states will not forget the people in the war-torn region.”