MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. In the wake of the devastating February earthquake, the Syrian authorities decided to open crossing points leading to the Idlib de-escalation zone to provide aid to civilians from areas outside the government’s control, a Russian military official has said.

"The government of the Syrian Arab Republic, with the assistance of the Russian reconciliation center, has made the decision to open crossing points on the line of engagement of the Idlib de-escalation zone in order to assist Syrian citizens in territories outside of the Syrian government’s control," said Oleg Yegorov, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian defense ministry).

In his words, Russian servicemen continue to assist the disaster relief effort in the affected provinces of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama, pulling 47 people alive from the rubble since February 6. Medical assistance was provided to 256 Syrians. Russian forces also distributed 45.9 tons of humanitarian assistance - food kits and essentials - among those in need.

Powerful 7.7-and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes rocked Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, located in the country’s southeast, on February 6. According to latest reports, the death toll has surpassed 24,000 people, while over 80,000 were injured.

The tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in 10 provinces as well as in neighboring countries, of which Syria was hardest hit. The health ministry of the Arab Republic said earlier in the day that 1,408 people are currently listed as dead and 2,341 as injured.

No confirmed casualty reports are available for territories outside the Syrian government’s control. However, members of illegal armed groups active in those areas were quoted as saying by Arab media outlets that over 3,000 people were killed in militant-controlled areas close to the border with Turkey.

Idlib is Syria’s only region whose major portion is controlled by illegal armed groups, including the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia). In 2017, these areas were designated as a de-escalation zone for militants who refused to lay down their weapons in Eastern Ghouta and southern regions of the country.