(Yicai Global) Feb. 13 -- Non-governmental rescue teams from China that headed to Syria following a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake have run into huge challenges, including some brought about by the civil war in the eastern Mediterranean country.

Rescue work is more difficult in Syria than in Türkiye, Li Jinfu, a member of the Blue Leopard Rescue team, told Yicai Global. Transportation is bad in Syria, so rescuers cannot take along many pieces of equipment, Li added, noting that a lack of money and cold weather make matters worse.

Twelve members of Blue Leopard Rescue left Shanghai on Feb. 10. After passing through Iran, they arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Feb. 12. They plan to search for survivors trapped under collapsed buildings and offer humanitarian aid in Aleppo and Latakia for two weeks.

Conditions in Syria are different, making it hard to even enter the country, said Hu Fang, head of Xinwu Social Work Service Center in Lanxi, Zhejiang province, which has been providing public welfare assistance to Syria. Three teams set out for Syria, but one cannot enter, so it moved to neighboring Lebanon to provide material support from there, she said.

While 1,000 international rescue groups have arrived in Türkiye to help in the wake of the natural disaster, only 10 have done so in Syria, Hu noted.

Other difficulties are brought about by US sanctions on Syria. Following public pressure, the US government announced a 180-day easing on Feb. 9 only for “all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts.”

Such a timeframe is not enough for post-disaster reconstruction in Syria, according to Wang Jin, a professor at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Northwest University. And “all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts” is a vague scope and not specific enough for international rescue teams to take action, Wang added.

The United States should offer concrete help rather than just relaxing sanctions, Wang noted.

Chinese people living in Syria are also doing their bit, with some in Damascus having called for donations for the quake victims, raising around CNY200,000 (USD29,280) in just seven days.

With the funds raised, Chinese people bought necessities, including quilts, canned food, milk powder, and syrup, and delivered them to Aleppo, in the north of the country. The first batch of supplies is expected to help 500 families.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione