Khartoum – Sudan has sent a flight carrying 30 tons of aid to quake-hit Syria, with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan calling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to offer support, officials said on Monday.
The supplies sent to Damascus, containing “30 tons of food, medical supplies, blankets and other materials”, followed a similar delivery of aid to Turkey on Friday, the foreign ministry in Khartoum said.
Burhan, who seized power in a 2021 military coup, called Assad “to offer condolences” after the 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6.
On Monday, the confirmed death toll rose to 35 224 as officials and medics said 31 643 people had died in Turkey and at least 3 581 in Syria.
Khartoum maintained diplomatic relations with Damascus even after the 2011 suspension of Syria from the Arab League over bloodshed in its civil war.
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Since the quake, Arab leaders have reached out to the long politically isolated Assad.
On Sunday, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited Assad in Damascus after the UAE pledged tens of millions of dollars in aid.
Assad had earlier received a call from his Egyptian counterpart offering support, their first official exchange since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi assumed office in 2014.
Similarly, the ruler of Bahrain, which re-established diplomatic relations with Syria in 2018, called Assad in their first official conversation in more than a decade.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@Lukyluke311
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