Assad is impeding humanitarian access in NW Syria: US Foreign Assistance Director

"Let me be very clear: even before the earthquake, there were no US sanctions in place that was preventing humanitarian assistance to Syria. The US has been giving – the United States has been giving humanitarian assistance across Syria since 2011 and billions and billions of dollars," Rand added.

Rand added that there was no sanction prohibition before, but just to be extra cautious – to communicate emphatically to the international community, the business community, and any NGOs, last week the Department of Treasury issued a general license to re‑emphasize and reiterate this fact.

In the past 12 years, there has been no impediment or prohibition on humanitarian assistance to northwest Syria, northeast Syria, and territories of Syria controlled by the Assad regime.  

The US had partners working on humanitarian assistance across Syria for many, and these partners were quick to pivot from other work to earthquake response. 

"The White Helmets are one of those partners that folks have heard of that have been on the ground, and my team tells me that already they've saved 2,900 folks. The White Helmets alone have saved 2,900 individuals, rescuing them from the earthquake in northwest Syria in non-regime-held areas since last – since the last week,” Dafna added.