In the early hours of 22 March, the Israeli air force launched renewed missile strikes on the vicinity of Aleppo International Airport in northeast Syria, marking the second attack on the civilian airstrip since a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated the region.
The House this week voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to maintain sanctions on Syria following a devastating earthquake that has killed at least 5,900 people in the country, The Cradle reported on Wednesday.
The US has issued a 180-day exemption for its sanctions on Syria that applies to “all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts,” according to the US Treasury Department.
US-imposed Caesar Act sanctions against the Syrian government have impeded humanitarian efforts in the country following the devastating 6 February earthquake, the UN Resident Coordinator for Syria, Mostafa Benlamlih, said on 8 February.
Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 19,000 on Thursday.
After a devastating earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing thousands of people, the US State Department showed no interest in lifting crippling economic sanctions on Syria that are specifically designed to prevent the country’s reconstruction.
Larger seismic activity may occur from 4 to 6 February, most likely up to mid or high 6 magnitude. There is a slight possibility of a larger seismic event around 4 February.
The first earthquake hit at a depth of 11 miles and was centred in southern Turkey, near the northern border of Syria, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
