Head of UN Humanitarian Affairs to Syria
Martin Griffiths is in Turkey and will travel to Syria this weekend to assess the needs of the population affected by the devastating earthquakes that have already killed more than 19,000 people.
This visit by Griffiths to the affected areas was ordered personally by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and will take him to cities in southern Turkey where the effects of the earthquake were most devastating, such as Gaziantep; or Aleppo in northern Syria. He will also go to Damascus, the capital of that last country.
Griffiths’ main goal will be to control the situation and evaluate how the United Nations can help. In his statement, Guterres pointed to the importance of increasing support for the humanitarian fund and the Syria cross-border fund, as well as ensuring humanitarian access through significantly damaged roads.