Following the huge Kazakh rescue and medical teams, sent to earthquake-struck Turkey, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to expand and broaden the assistance to Syria too
Astana, 11 February 2023. With the support of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), Kazakhstan delivered 50 tons of humanitarian aid to earthquake-shaken Syria. The Central Asian country sent to the Syrian casualties canned food, warm clothes, winter tents, beds, and bedding from the Kazakh state reserve. The humanitarian aid is being delivered to the city of Aleppo in four flights by the National Guard of Kazakhstan.
The IOFS Director General, Yerlan Baidaulet, at the request of Kazakhstan’s Head of State, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, personally flew to Syria to oversee the cargo delivery. Deputy Governor of Aleppo Abdel Qader Dawaalibi, Director of Aleppo Airport Mohammed Al-Masri, representatives of the Syrian Red Crescent, and the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Lebanon Rasul Zhumaly took part in the ceremony of transferring appropriate assistance to the Syrian side at the Aleppo airport.
Speaking on behalf of the hosting side, the Deputy Governor of Aleppo, Abdel Kader Dawaalibi, expressed his deep gratitude to the people of Kazakhstan. According to him, the Kazakh nation, who shared the burden and extended a helping hand in difficult times, will never be forgotten.
The humanitarian aid to Syria is just one part of Kazakhstan’s efforts. Since February 6, immediately after the huge earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, President Tokayev allocated governmental budgets and Kazakh medical and rescue teams visited the Turkish embassy in Astana and offered Turkey emergency assistance. Tokayev has expressed condolences to Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, over the many victims of the devastating earthquake in the southeast part of the country, and noted Kazakhstan’s readiness to provide appropriate assistance.
“I received with deep sorrow the news about the large number of deaths resulting from the massive earthquake in the Republic of Türkiye”, Tokayev telegramed to Erdogan. “On this sad occasion, on behalf of the people of Kazakhstan and on my own behalf, I express my condolences to the families who lost their beloved ones as well as to the entire brotherly nation of Türkiye”.
The day after, February 7, Kazakh rescuers and means were dispatched in the amount of 41 people, 3 units of equipment, and 3 cynological dogs. Another operational group of the Ministry of Emergency Situations included 33 rescuers and 5 medical personnel. On February 8, the second team of rescuers was dispatched, including 56 people, 3 units of equipment, and 3 cynological crews. They arrived in Gaziantep, Turkey, on the same day and started operating on the ground. In total, a team of 84 rescuers and 10 medical professionals was sent, as well as 6 units of equipment, and 6 cynological crews.
The city of Gaziantep is defined as the area for the ACP. Work is carried out at three sites around the clock in two shifts. On February 9, at least 64 people (42 citizens of Kazakhstan, and 22 citizens of Kyrgyzstan, were evacuated from Gaziantep to Astana.
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