2nd aid plane from China arrives in quake-hit Syria to provide emergency supplies

Relief aid from China is unloaded at Damascus international airport in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 13, 2023. A second batch of relief aid from the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) arrived in Syria by plane on Monday to provide emergency supplies for people affected by the earthquakes in the country. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- A second batch of relief aid from the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) arrived in Syria by plane on Monday to provide emergency supplies for people affected by the earthquakes in the country.

"The humanitarian aid includes winter clothes, equipment, medication, and other stuff the Syrians need," Chinese Ambassador to Syria Shi Hongwei told reporters at the Damascus international airport, adding more aid will be sent in the future.

The Chinese ambassador also called on the United States and the West to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria to facilitate the flow of relief aid to the quake-hit country.

"A major earthquake hit Syria and led to a major humanitarian catastrophe. We call on the international community, particularly the U.S. and the West, to lift unilateral sanctions imposed on Syria to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Syria," he said.

On Thursday, the RCSC sent the first batch of emergency medical supplies to Syria.

On Sunday, the Chinese community in Syria donated relief supplies to the Syrian people via the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

The earthquakes that rocked Syria on Feb. 6 have so far killed about 5,300 people in the government and rebel-held areas, according to the latest figures released by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The United Nations said on Friday that the earthquakes had displaced 5.3 million people in Syria.

People transfer relief aid from China at Damascus international airport in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 13, 2023. A second batch of relief aid from the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) arrived in Syria by plane on Monday to provide emergency supplies for people affected by the earthquakes in the country. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

Relief aid from China is unloaded at Damascus international airport in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 13, 2023. A second batch of relief aid from the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) arrived in Syria by plane on Monday to provide emergency supplies for people affected by the earthquakes in the country. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

People transfer relief aid from China at Damascus international airport in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 13, 2023. A second batch of relief aid from the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) arrived in Syria by plane on Monday to provide emergency supplies for people affected by the earthquakes in the country. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)