UN aid chief will visit Damascus

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths will visit earthquake epicentre Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, followed by Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, this weekend. 

Griffiths will assess the needs of the two countries and how the UN can step up its support, Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced. 

"Roads are damaged. People are dying. Now is the time to explore all possible avenues to get aid and personnel into all affected areas. We must put people first," Guterres said in New York.

MEE has reported that the UN was unable to reach rebel-held northwest Syria due to customs officials at the Bab al-Hawa crossing being personally impacted by the quake. 

Bab al-Hawa is the only international aid corridor from Turkey into Syria. 

Guterres said the UN would be "very happy" to get aid into northwest Syria using other border crossings, if it was able to do so.