UAE pledges $13 million in aid to quake-hit Syria

People sit together at a temporary shelter in the aftermath of the earthquake in Aleppo, Syria February 6, 2023. (Reuters)

• The 7.8 magnitude quake struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep before dawn on Monday
• More than 1,651 people in Turkey and another 1,100 in neighboring Syria have died

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates on Monday pledged humanitarian assistance worth around $13.6 million to Syria following an earthquake in Turkiye that killed at least 1,000 people in the war-torn country, Emirates News Agency reported.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep before dawn on Monday, killing more than 1,651 people in Turkiye and another 1,100 in neighboring Syria.
Dubai Ruler and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum “directed urgent humanitarian aid to those affected in Syria,” WAM said.
The assistance is valued at 50 million dirhams, it added.
Countries around the world have mobilised rapidly to send aid and rescue workers to affected areas.
The UAE has dispatched a first plane to Adana Airport in southern Turkiye “”carrying search and rescue teams, crews, and medical equipment,” WAM said.
The UAE said it was planning to establish a field hospital in Turkiye and will also send search and rescue teams to Syria, along with urgent relief supplies and emergency aid, the news agency added.
Earlier on Monday, Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan offered his condolences to his Syrian and Turkish counterparts in two separate phone calls, according to WAM.
He “emphasized the UAE's support for Syria and Turkiye and offered to provide any assistance in their efforts to mitigate the impact of the earthquake,” it said.