In a related development, Syria’s war-torn city of Aleppo is among the areas to have borne the brunt of a deadly earthquake, which also devastated parts of southern Turkey. More than one thousand, four hundred people have been reported dead so far in northern Syria following the quake. Emergency rescue teams said many buildings were damaged or destroyed and that people were trapped under the rubble, in the region which is home to millions of refugees displaced by civil war. Even before the earthquake the situation in much of the region was critical with freezing weather, crumbling infrastructure and a cholera outbreak causing misery for many of those who live there. Some Aleppo residents told newsmen that they have nowhere to go, either because their homes have been destroyed or because they are afraid of further quakes.
