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CatastropheMorocco

German Red Cross aid to Morocco postponed due to 'new rules'

Rana Taha
September 14, 2023

Upon Moroccan request, the German Red Cross was scheduled to send a relief flight to Morocco on Thursday. The Moroccan government has restricted aid senders to four governments, excluding Germany, the US and France.

https://p.dw.com/p/4WJVE
The door of a former house stands amidst rubble caused by the earthquake in the town of Imi N'tala outside Marrakech on September 13, 2023.
Morocco's devastating earthquake has killed nearly 3,000, injuring over 5,000 othersImage: Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP/dpa

A German Red Cross relief flight set to take off on Thursday en route to Morocco was postponed at the last minute due to "new rules and regulations," as the North African country reels from a devastating earthquake that killed thousands.

The German Red Cross (DRK) said in a Thursday statement that the flight, due to take off from the German city of Leipzig, had to be canceled "for reasons beyond our control and that of our partners in the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement."

The relief flight was packed with 36.6 tons of relief supplies, the German DPA news agency reported. They included over 3,000 floor mats and 550 family-sized tents.

Tents housing people displaced by the earthquake in the town of Douzrou outside Marrakech on September 13, 2023.
The delayed relief flight was supplied with some 550 family-sized tentsImage: Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP/dpa

What did the DRK say?

The DRK said the relief was planned based on a request from the Moroccan Red Crescent.

"We deeply regret these developments, because the people on the ground urgently need help after the severe earthquakes," the statement read. The Red Cross added that it was working on resolving the issue.

Morocco has restricted the response crews allowed to bring aid into the country to four countries; Spain, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, also allowing NGOs to transfer aid.

Members of the group "Movement on the Ground" search for a possible 17-year-old survivor in the rubble of a house collapsed by the earthquake in the town of Imi N'Tala on September 12, 2023.
Morocco has restricted the response crews allowed to bring aid into the country to four countriesImage: Ximena Borrazas/SOPA/ZUMA/dpa

Why is Morocco restricting aid?

The government argued that poorly coordinated aid would be counterproductive. However, many Moroccans suggested the decision was political, particularly as countries such as the US and Morocco's former colonizer France were not allowed to send aid.

"It is important that in times like these, aid is provided solely according to the level of need and that humanitarian work is supported from all sides," the DRK said in its Thursday statement.

The earthquake left 2,946 dead and 5,674 more injured, as per the latest tally by the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday evening.

In Morocco, hopes of finding eathquake survivors dwindle

With material from DPA.

Edited by Richard Connor