SYRIA - A snapshot of humanitarian access and response capacity in areas affected by the Kahramanmaras earthquakes

The fact that different authorities control the earthquake-affected areas, among other restrictions, is the main factor challenging the access of people in need to assistance and the delivery of humanitarian aid. [...] In the government-controlled areas (GCAs) of Aleppo city, Hama, Homs, Lattakia, and Tartous, international sanctions banning assistance and trade, the confiscation and looting of aid, the loss of civil documentation, and a lack of funding are the main access restrictions affecting humanitarian operations. [...] In the non-government-controlled areas (NGCAs) of Idleb and northern Aleppo, the main access constraint is the presence of different authorities, including armed groups affiliated with the different parties to the conflict, including the Turkish Governmentthe Syrian Government, and the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. [...] Access constraints in NGCAs, aside from challenging the humanitarian Comprehensive sanctions have been imposed on Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 response to the earthquakes, also contribute to a lack of information on humanitarian needs and continues to limit humanitarian access in the country, particularly in GCAs. [...] That said, there have been reports of government officials and armed groups allied with the Government of Syria, who are overseeing aid shipment to the affected governorates, Methodology: the report is based on the ACAPS Humanitarian Access Methodology and diverting and confiscating the aid reaching GCAs.