Earthquakes in Turkey and north-west Syria – operation to deliver urgent freight (Feb. 18, 2023)

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Statement by the ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs spokesperson

Following the deadly double earthquake on 6 February affecting southern Turkey and northern Syria, particularly north-west Syria, France expresses its support for the victims of the quake, which has killed tens of thousands of people and injured very many others.

As soon as the disaster occurred, France sprang into action to provide initial emergency aid to the population affected. €12 million of initial finance was made available to the United Nations and NGOs working in the areas affected by the earthquakes in northern Syria.

Building on this mobilization, a plane chartered by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Centre is leaving for Gaziantep today with 40 tonnes of equipment on board, including:

  • emergency shelters, including 600 family tents funded by the Crisis and Support Centre and capable of accommodating nearly 3,000 people,
  • 48 heaters,
  • 20 generators, cables and electricity connection equipment provided by Electriciens sans frontières and its partners,
  • medicines to treat up to 15,000 patients, provided by the organization Tulipe,
  • more than six tonnes of powdered baby milk, provided by the Lactalis Group.

This emergency aid will be handed over to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which will ensure this emergency aid is distributed to the Syrian population affected by the quake in the areas hit.

The operation, which comes under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), is being coordinated by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Centre and our embassy in Ankara, in conjunction with the Turkish authorities and the United Nations.