WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday announced an initial $85 million package for emergency relief after a devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria.
The US Agency for International Development that the funding will go to partners on the ground “to deliver urgently needed aid for millions of people” including through food, shelter and emergency health services.
The funding will also support safe drinking water and sanitation to prevent the outbreak of disease, the agency said in a statement.
The announcement comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Thursday spoke by telephone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the NATO’s ally needs.
“We are proud to join the global efforts to help Turkiye just as Turkiye has so often contributed its own humanitarian rescue experts to so many other countries in the past,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters as he described the call.
The United States has already sent rescue teams to Turkiye and has contributed concrete breakers, generators, water purification systems and helicopters, officials said.
Assistance in Syria is going through local partners as the United States refuses to deal with Syrian President Bashar Assad as Washington demands accountability over abuses during the brutal civil war.
US announces $85m in aid for quake-hit Turkiye, Syria
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US announces $85m in aid for quake-hit Turkiye, Syria
- The funding will also support safe drinking water and sanitation to prevent the outbreak of disease
- The United States has already sent rescue teams to Turkiye
Jordan says it took part in US-led operation against Daesh sites in Syria
CAIRO: The Jordanian Royal Air Force has participated in the US-led airstrikes carried against the Daesh group in Syria earlier on Friday.
The US military said it struck Daesh strongholds across central Syria in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country. Aircraft from Jordan were also involved.
Jordan’s state-run Petra News Agency said: “This participation comes in cooperation with the United States as part of the international coalition against the terrorist Daesh group, which the Syrian government recently joined.”
The US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks were carried by fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery against more than 70 targets at multiple locations, mainly targeting infrastructure and weapons sites.
