Schools reopen as Syrians live with quake’s devastation

Idlib (Syria): Schools resumed classes in Syria’s rebel-held northwest Saturday after closing for nearly three weeks following an earthquake that devastated the region, local officials said, even as many schoolchildren suffer from shock.

Many schools were turned into temporary shelters following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and neighbouring parts of Syria on Feb. 6 and killed tens of thousands of people.

The quake left homeless hundreds of thousands of people in the area, many of whom had already been displaced by Syria’s 12-year-long war.

Because of that conflict, the rebel-held area has also struggled to receive urgently needed humanitarian aid.

Many students were absent from their classes Saturday as their homes were damaged by the quake and their families now reside far away from the schools, said Abdulkafi Al-Hamdou a citizen journalist in the rebel-held region.