Syria Allows Aid Delivery To Rebel-Held Areas Affected By Earthquake

Monday's massive quake killed more than 22,700 people in Turkey and Syria, in one of the region's worst disasters in a century.

The Syrian government said on Friday it had approved the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas outside its control in the quake-hit rebel-held northwest of the country.

"The Council of Ministers approves... the delivery of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Syrian Arab Republic," a cabinet statement said.

It added that aid distribution should be supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Red Crescent with UN help.

"Any initiative that contributes to alleviating the suffering of civilians is welcome," ICRC's regional director Fabrizio Carboni told AFP after the decision.