UN coordinator concerned about Aleppo airport closure

Geneva (epd). The UN has expressed grave concern about a temporary closure of the attacked Aleppo airport in northern Syria. Many aid deliveries for earthquake victims in the Aleppo region were made via the airport, said the acting UN emergency aid coordinator for Syria, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, according to a statement by the world organization distributed in Geneva on Wednesday.

Planes with aid supplies for the earthquake victims would now have to head for Damascus or Latakia. Also, UN planes with relief supplies for other areas could temporarily no longer take off from Aleppo. The airport is closed until further notice. According to media reports, Israeli forces attacked the airport on Tuesday.

In early February, severe earthquakes shook the border region of Syria and Turkey. Tens of thousands of people died and hundreds of thousands were injured. A humanitarian crisis had already raged in the areas of north-western Syria before the tremors. According to the UN, 4.1 million people were dependent on aid because of the ongoing war.