Syria – blocked aid causes even more quake deaths

Syria battered by a decade plus of a brutal civil war is facing unthinkable misery in the earthquake zone. The towns of northern Syria have been seized by rebels, barrel-bombed by the Assad regime, overrun by Islamic State, shelled by Kurds and now can’t get aid through, blocked by Russian intransigence and UN incompetence. The bulk of the rescue work in rebel-controlled areas is being carried out by the White Helmets, a volunteer civilian defence force funded by western governments, inclu