RPT - 'Absolutely No Aid': Syrian Kurds Say Unprepared For COVID-19 Crisis

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st April, 2020) Syrian Kurds are not ready to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as no international body has provided any help requested by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), SDC Representative in the US and member of Presidential Committee Bassam Saker told Sputnik.

"North and East Syria is in a very dangerous situation. We need aid and support from the international community, but so far we have received absolutely no aid or support," Saker said. "Our region does not even have the capacity to test for coronavirus, let alone effectively treat or quarantine patients."

Saker pointed out that many people are tightly packed into refugee camps or detention centers, and living in tents - in "conditions where the virus will spread quickly."

He also underlined that many more people have been living in poverty conditions, especially in the nine years since the civil war began, which leaves people with weakened health.

"Our health infrastructure has been severely damaged by war and instability. Every hospital, clinic, and health facility has been under-resourced for years," Saker stressed. "We need trained personnel, we need protective equipment, we need respirators... We need doctors, medical staff, medical supplies, food aid, and other support."

Saker shared that they have been issuing urgent appeals for help to the UN, the WHO, and to other international organizations for weeks.

"Despite our extreme need, we have received absolutely no aid or support," he revealed. "We will face untold death and devastation if we do not receive medical aid and other support very soon."

Saker went on to say that at the moment they do not know how many cases of coronavirus there are in North and East Syria, because they do not have any testing methods for the virus.

"Coronavirus is surely in our midst, but we do not possess the ability to test for it. It is only a matter of time before the situation turns into a tragedy on a mass scale," he stated. "We gravely need international aid and support... If we do not receive aid and support from the international community, including test kits, North and East Syria will be utterly devastated."

Saker warned that the consequences of the virus in case the region does not revives any aid can spread beyond the its borders.

"We will face untold death and devastation if we do not receive medical aid and other support very soon. The ramifications of ignoring our calls for aid may last for months, and will reach far beyond our borders," he said. "The people of North and East Syria are resilient, and have so far survived the hardships of the Syrian civil war, Turkish aggression and continued occupation, the territorial defeat of ISIS, economic devastation, upheaval, and betrayal by our allies. But this virus is something that does not discriminate based upon strength of character.

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Saker stressed that the Coronavirus impacts every breathing human, and they are very concerned for the health and well-being of their people, and ask for help.

"We are trying to battle Coronavirus while under the threat of Turkish bombs landing on us. If we receive no aid, North and East Syria, with our refugee camps, Turkish aggression, and damaged health infrastructure, could be prove to be a hotbed for the virus, leading to untold death and devastation," he concluded.

Saker also said that The Syrian Kurds are worried about a new military operation prepared by against them in the region amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the world.

"Now, Turkey is taking this opportunity - while the world is distracted and weakened by Coronavirus - to announce a new offensive against us, which they are calling "Octopus," Saker said. "Turkey's new offensive aims to occupy all of North and East Syria - our entire region. How can we fight this global pandemic when we Turkish and Turkish-backed forces may begin shelling us at any moment?"

Ankara views the Kurdish-led groups, which are operating in northern Syria, as affiliates of the PKK, which is considered by Turkey to be a terrorist organization. To fight them, Turkey - in cooperation with several Syrian opposition groups - conducted a number of military operations in Syria, such as the Euphrates Shield and the Olive Branch operation in the city of Afrin.

Damascus has condemned Ankara's military operations as a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

"Furthermore, Turkish occupation has cut off access to the medical equipment we would need to test for the virus, and they have stolen many of our resources," Saker said. "Their occupying forces and the conflict have also cut off our access to provide any aid or services to our people living in certain camps."

The World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating closely with Turkey to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 into northwestern Syria, including on samples processing in Turkish laboratories, the head of WHO's operation in northwestern Syria has said in an interview with Sputnik.

No COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Syria's north-west so far.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock on Monday called for lifting the sanctions against Syria that could undermine the country's capacity to suppress the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Syrian authorities imposed a nationwide curfew on Wednesday, closing all public spaces and shutting land borders.

On Sunday, the country's Health Ministry confirmed the first death of a COVID-19 patient. As of Monday, Syria has registered nine coronavirus cases