Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying 33 tons of emergency food supplies to the victims of the earthquake in Herat province in western Afghanistan, which killed and injured thousands of people, most of them women and children, and caused severe damage.

The items were sent through the joint efforts of several Emirates relief agencies in coordination with the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, the Zayed Charitable Foundation and the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Humanitarian Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sultan Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of State for Development Affairs and International Organizations, said: The delivery of emergency food items with the participation of relief and charity organizations in the UAE is part of the framework for providing the necessary needs in times of crisis, especially natural ones. Disasters resulting in severe shortages of food and medical supplies. “Rapid intervention is needed to support the affected population, especially women, children and the elderly.”

He pointed out that the UAE was one of the first countries to offer support and assistance to friendly Afghans to mitigate the effects of earthquakes, reflecting the established approach of the UAE since the era of the late founding father Sheikh Zayed Bin. Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, and the leadership’s guidance, always provide support and emergency response to nations and peoples during crises and disasters.

Afghan officials reported that 20 villages were leveled and at least 2,500 people were killed in the earthquake and its aftermath, while more than 11,000 people were affected by the series of earthquakes, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It hit Herat province in Afghanistan, and the United Nations announced that the United States would provide five million dollars in emergency aid to Afghanistan.

At least eight earthquakes were reported in the border area of ​​Afghanistan last Saturday, and the US Geological Survey estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 4.6 to 6.3 on the Richter scale, and the tremor occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometers.

• 33 tons of emergency food items sent by UAE to earthquake victims.

• The earthquake and its aftershocks killed 2,500 people and leveled 20 villages.