Hezbollah sends quake aid to Syria, raps West’s ‘fake support’ for human rights

The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has dispatched more humanitarian aid convoy to earthquake-affected areas in Syria, deploring Western governments’ "fake advocacy" for human rights.

The humanitarian aid left for Syria’s western city of Latakia, located on the Mediterranean Sea, and reportedly included tents, foodstuff, sanitation supplies, other daily necessities and medical equipment. The supplies can meet the needs of thousands of people.

Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, head of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, stated that the shipment will be followed by other batches of emergency aid to Aleppo and elsewhere in quake-devastated areas of Syria.

“Earthquake victims are in dire need of assistance. Syria has always stood at our side in times of need,” Safieddine said, emphasizing that Hezbollah “will support Syrians and will not leave them without any help throughout the current difficult situation.”

“The West showed its true colors during the crisis, and exposed its fake human rights gestures,” the senior Hezbollah official noted.

Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll to top 50,000, UN warns

The UN relief chief says the death toll from the calamitous earthquake in Turkey and Syria is expected to rise more than double its current level.

Earlier, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem told Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Manar television network that countries around the world must rush to send rescue workers, equipment and aid to help victims of the earthquake.

He offered his condolences to the Syrian people and government, saying Hezbollah has dispatched convoys of humanitarian aid to quake-hit areas.

Sheikh Qassem argued that US sanctions, backed by most Arab countries, are hampering relief and rescue operations, adding that the coercive measures run contrary to the fundamental humanitarian principles.

The top Hezbollah official stressed that the West must realize that Syrians are all united in the fight against the Takfiri terrorist groups and that the nation will not accept any foreign diktats.

Meanwhile, the United Nations says an anti-government group that has been designated as a terrorist group by the international community is preventing aid consignments from being delivered to the earthquake-stricken areas in the northern part of Syria.

President Assad: Many countries ‘under US pressure’ not to help quake-stricken Syria

President Assad says many countries are "under pressure from the United States" not to help quake-stricken Syria.

A spokesman for the UN’s humanitarian aid office made the remarks on Sunday, saying there were “issues with approval” by the group, which it identified as the terrorist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The group has been waging deadly violence against Syrian people and government forces alike since 2011, when the Arab country found itself in the grip of foreign-backed terrorism.

The northern part of Syria, which is currently under HTS’ control, has received little relief aid as terrorists have sealed front lines with the government, despite last week’s announcement by Damascus that it is willing to send aid to that region.

The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria on Monday has risen to more than 4,300. The death toll in neighboring Turkey also rises to 31,643.

The biggest proportion of the fatalities in Syria has occurred in the territory that is being held by the Takfiri terrorist groups.

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