Several planes, carrying aid for those affected by the earthquake, arrive at the airports of Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia

7 planes from the UAE, Bahrain, Libya, Armenia and Germany arrived today at the international airports of Damascus, Lattakia and Aleppo, carrying relief aid for those affected by the earthquake that struck Syria on the 6th of this month.

An Emirati aid plane arrived this morning carrying 105 tons and 700 kilograms of food. In addition, an Armenian aid plane, accompanied by an official delegation headed by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, arrived carrying 36 tons and 600 kilograms of relief materials, which will be unloaded at Aleppo International Airport.

The first Bahraini plane carrying relief materials also arrived at Damascus International Airport to help those affected by the earthquake.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Damascus Wahid Mubarak Al-Sayyar said in a statement at the airport that “it is under the directives of King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa and the support of Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, President of the Royal Institution for charity, Bahriani aid and donations are provided to help the Syrian brothers overcome this crisis”.

Al-Sayyar indicated that the aid plane that arrived today carries 38 tons of medical and relief materials, and it is the second batch of aid after the first that arrived last Sunday through the Nassib border crossing, carrying 42 tons.

Al-Sayyar stressed that the relations between Syria and Bahrain are strong and fraternal and have never been severed, and that his country will continue to provide assistance to Syria and strengthen bilateral relations to serve the two brotherly peoples.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Royal Bahraini Foundation for Humanitarian Affairs Mustafa Al-Sayed said that he was very happy to be in Syria and help it in these difficult circumstances, as Bahrain has not been absent from Syria, not for a moment over the past years, indicating that under the directives of His Majesty the King, this shipment of aid will be followed by other shipments.

He added that he will visit the affected areas and see their needs, and today he met with the chairman of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to find out the required needs and in light of them he will launch and implement development projects, pointing out that he will discuss with the Minister of Health Hassan Al-Ghabbash sending a Bahraini medical delegation consisting of 15 doctors specialize in orthopedics and surgery to provide medical support to their Syrian colleagues.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bahraini Medical Association Amer Al-Derazi stressed the importance of providing medical assistance to those injured as a result of the earthquake, providing psychological support for those affected and standing by them in their ordeal. He indicated that, in coordination with the Ministry of Health in Syria, field tours will be made to find out what is going on and assess the medical needs in terms of supplies, cadres and specializations.

Al-Derazi pointed out that since the earthquake disaster occurred in Syria, the Association has received many calls from doctors and people in Bahrain asking about the mechanism for providing aid to the Syrian people.

Moreocer, an aid plane from Germany also arrived at Damascus International Airport, carrying 40 tons and 239 kilograms of relief aid provided by the German Red Cross.

In a statement to reporters, Sarmad Al-Sarraj, representative of the Red Cross in Damascus, stated that this plane carries a package of medicine and medical materials provided by the German Red Cross to theirbpartners in the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to help them respond to the repercussions of the earthquake.

Al-Sarraj said that during the past years, the German Red Cross, in cooperation with the Syrian Red Crescent, delivered aid in several ways, stressing that this shipment is not the last and shipping is possible by land, air, or sea, and what matters to our brothers, the Syrian Red Crescent, is that they have the ability to respond to this disaster.”

In a similar statement, the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Khaled Hboubati, said: “Cooperation with the German Red Cross existed before the crisis and continues until now, and we are all cooperating under the umbrella of the International Federation of the Red Cross,” adding: “Yesterday the first plane arrived from Norway, and today it is coming from Germany. It carries medical aid and medicine,” he continued.

“We thank the German Red Cross, the German government and people,” Hboubati said, noting that more planes will come to Syria and “we, as Syrians, welcome everyone.”

An Emirati aid plane carrying 25 tons of aid arrived today at Lattakia International Airport to the Syrian Civil Defense and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to help those affected by the earthquake.

A Libyan aid plane coming from Benghazi also arrived at Lattakia International Airport, carrying 14 tons of relief aid, including medical and relief equipment.

Also, an Emirati plane arrived today at Aleppo International Airport carrying 25.4 tons of humanitarian and food aid for those affected by the earthquake.

NR