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Venezuelan minister of the interior, justice and peace, Remigio Ceballos, during the farewell to the emergency teams sent to Türkiye and Syria to help in the find and rescue operations after the earthquake that hit the region this Monday. Photo: Alba Ciudad.
This Tuesday, February 7, Venezuelan minister of the interior, justice and peace, Remigio Ceballos, and minister of foreign affairs, Yván Gil, dispatched a mixed commission of 52 rescue professionals as part of the Simón Bolívar Humanitarian Task Force, in order to support search efforts in affected cities in Türkiye and Syria after the earthquake of this Monday.
In the early hours of this Monday, February 6, a earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale hit the southeast of Türkiye and Syria, affecting more than 6,000 buildings, accounting for 16,381 deaths that have been reported in total—12,873 in Turkey and 3,508 in Syria—so far, according to official data as of February 8.
Ceballos explained that the emergency response team is made up of technicians, doctors, specialists, and dogs trained in find and rescue operations, as part of the humanitarian support offered by Venezuela that—besides being heavily sanctioned and blockaded by the US and the European Union—is capable of showing international solidarity much needed for the affected populations in the west Asian nations. Gil also reported that 23 tons of food and medicine are being sent as part of humanitarian aid to both countries.
Given the unilateral coercive measures that the US government has imposed on Syria, the foreign minister took the moment to reiterate the call to the international community, “to raise its voice so that the sanctions on the Syrian Arab Republic are immediately lifted, because that is the only way to optimize recovery.”
Syria: Illegal Sanctions Exacerbate Suffering of Those Affected by Earthquakes
The announcement was made from the Simón Bolívar International Airport, in Maiquetía, La Guaira, where Ceballos also noted that the Venezuelan state stands in solidarity with and offers its full support to the peoples of Türkiye and Syria after this terrible disaster.
(Alba Ciudad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
