Saudi to send medics to Syria after deadly earthquakes

Saudi Arabia intends to send medical volunteers to areas in Syria which were hit by the two deadly earthquakes on 6 February, AFP reported yesterday.

Though Riyadh severed ties with the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad in 2012 following the outbreak of the wide scale protests against his rule, the kingdom has sent aid to both government and opposition-held areas since the 7.8 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes struck the northwest of the country,

Yesterday, the King Salman Centre for Relief and Humanitarian Aid announced that it would provide $50 million in additional aid to both Syria and Turkiye where more than 44,000 people have been killed.

The aid includes sending medical volunteers to Syria for the first time.

Riyadh has so far avoided direct contact with the Assad government, coordinating instead with the Syrian Red Crescent. Last week a Saudi plane carrying aid landed in Syria’s second city Aleppo — the first in more than a decade of war.

On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said a consensus is growing in the Arab world on the need to adopt a new approach towards Syria that requires negotiations with Damascus to confront humanitarian crises, including the earthquake.

READ: Syria government approves humanitarian aid delivery across frontlines