ALEPPO: World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on Saturday in Syria’s quake-stricken city of Aleppo, state media reported.
Tedros “arrived at Aleppo airport to tour some hospitals and shelters with (Syria’s) health minister and the governor of Aleppo,” the official news agency SANA said.
His visit came five days after a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkiye and Syria, killing more than 24,000 people including at least 3,553 in war-torn Syria alone.
Upon his arrival, Tedros said he was accompanying “emergency medical supplies of around 37 metric tons.”
“We are very happy that we could come with the supplies,” he told reporters at Aleppo airport.
“This is the first supply we are sending.”
He added that the WHO would continue to provide emergency medical services and bring in more emergency supplies necessary for “trauma management.”
“Tomorrow, there will be another round with more than 30 metric tons,” he said.
He expressed concern over the after-effects of the earthquake, especially the disruption of services.
“People are exposed to diarrheal diseases... and other health problems especially mental health problems,” he said.
“We will work together to address the impact of the earthquake, not only the emergency services during the earthquake.
Since Monday’s earthquake, rescuers and volunteers have been scrambling with little means to find survivors under concrete debris of collapsed buildings.
WHO chief arrives in Syria’s quake-hit Aleppo: state media
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WHO chief arrives in Syria’s quake-hit Aleppo: state media
- Upon his arrival, Tedros said he was accompanying “emergency medical supplies of around 37 metric tons”
- Since Monday’s earthquake, rescuers and volunteers have been scrambling with little means to find survivors
Sudan paramilitary advances near Ethiopia border
- Sudan’s Kordofan region, where the SPLM-N has its other foothold in the Nuba Mountains, is currently the war’s fiercest battleground
KHARTOUM: Sudanese paramilitary forces have advanced on army positions near the southeastern border with Ethiopia, according to the group and an eyewitness who spoke to AFP Wednesday.
Control over Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile State, bordering both Ethiopia and South Sudan, is split between the army and a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, allies of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
In a statement released Tuesday, the SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, said they had “liberated the strategic city of Deim Mansour and areas of Bashir Nuqu and Khor Al-Budi.”
Since April 2023, the Sudanese army has been at war with the RSF. In February of last year, the RSF announced a surprise alliance with the SPLM-N, securing experienced fighters, land and border access.
Deim Mansour lies between the SPLM-N stronghold Yabus, birthplace of their deputy commander Joseph Tuka, and the army-held town of Kurmuk, which hosts a large army contingent.
Babiker Khaled, who fled to Kurmuk, told AFP that SPLM-N fighters began amassing in the forests around Deim Mansour on Sunday.
“The shelling began on Monday, they entered the city on Tuesday,” he said, adding that “some people fled into Ethiopia, others arrived in Kurmuk.”
From its foothold in the southern Blue Nile, a thin strip of land jutting south between Ethiopia and South Sudan, the SPLM-N maintains reported supply lines from both countries, building on decades-old links.
Close to three years of war in Sudan have left tens of thousands dead and around 11 million displaced, creating the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also torn the country apart, with the army holding the center, north and east of Sudan while the RSF and its allies dominate the west and parts of the south.
Sudan’s Kordofan region, where the SPLM-N has its other foothold in the Nuba Mountains, is currently the war’s fiercest battleground.
On Tuesday, the army broke a paramilitary siege on South Kordofan state capital Kadugli, days after breaking another on the nearby city of Dilling.
