Damascus - (AFP) - Syria appealed on Monday to the international community to "extend a helping hand" to support it after the devastating earthquake that struck the country and its center in Turkey, killing hundreds and thousands of injured.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement, "Syria appeals to the member states of the United Nations, the General Secretariat of the organization, its relevant agencies and funds, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other humanitarian action partners from international, governmental and non-governmental organizations, to extend a helping hand and support the efforts made by the Syrian government in facing the earthquake disaster." The destructive".

Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, during a meeting he held on Monday with representatives of international organizations operating in Damascus, expressed his country's readiness to "provide all required facilities to international organizations in order to provide humanitarian assistance and the necessary needs."

The Syrian government has so far counted the death of 461 people and the injury of more than 1,326 others in the areas under its control. 390 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in the northern areas outside Damascus' control, according to local medics.

Hundreds of families are still under the rubble in several governorates. The widening of the affected areas and the difficult climatic conditions impede the work of the rescue and ambulance personnel.

The years of the war, which is approaching its twelfth year, drained the country's capabilities and its ability to deal with similar quarts, after battles and bombing rounds limited the ability of service facilities to operate in several parts of the country.

President Bashar al-Assad, whose country has been subject to Western sanctions since the outbreak of the conflict in 2011, received calls and telegrams of condolences and solidarity from leaders of several countries, most notably his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Iranian Ibrahim Raisi, President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and King of Jordan. Abdullah II.

Today, most Syrians live below the poverty line, and 14.9 million of them suffer from food insecurity and harsh living conditions, in light of an exhausted economy.

Since 2011, Syria has been witnessing a bloody conflict that has caused the death of about half a million people, massive destruction of infrastructure, and the displacement of more than half of the population inside and outside the country.