Syrians' resilience to cope with earthquake aftermath 'diminished drastically' due to prolonged crisis: ICRC chief

Damascus: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric has said that Syrians' resilience to cope with the aftermath of the massive earthquakes is "diminished drastically" after more than 10 years of crisis in Syria.

During an interview over the phone, Spoljaric on Friday added the ICRC's delivery of services to people in need "was very weak before the earthquakes and will remain weak for a long time to come".

After Monday's devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria, the ICRC has delivered immediate relief materials to earthquake-battered areas in Syria, including water, blankets and shelters, she said.

The challenge for the Syrians to cope with the aftermath of the earthquakes is that the tremors had come at a time when the country had already gone through more than 10 years of war, which had caused large-scale devastation to civilian infrastructure, according to Spoljaric.

"It's very difficult to sustain water and heating supplies in such circumstances," she added.

"The people are very exhausted, they are very scared ... they are very afraid to return to their houses," she said, adding people living in temporary shelters don't know when they would be able to return home, Xinhua news agency reported.

She said people in the quake-hit zone need blankets, food, water, and in particular medical assistance.

The ICRC needs to have access to all affected populations no matter where they are, she added.