Government to decide on EUR 70,000 aid for civilians in quake-stricken Syria

RIGA - The government is set to decide on a proposal to send EUR 70,000 in humanitarian relief to civilians in Syria which was recently hit by a devastating earthquake. 

According to a draft decree, which the government has yet to approve, the money would be transferred to the account of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to support civilians in Syria. 

The government is expected to decide on the allocation on Tuesday, February 14. 

As of Monday, the number of fatalities from the major earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria at the beginning of last week, exceeded 37,500 as rescue works to find survivors were drawing to a close. 

Authorities and medics reported that at least 31,643 people have died in the quake in Turkey, while the death toll in Syria has reached at least 5,900 people. 

Latvia has already provided assistance to Turkey worth at least EUR 200,000.