ROME – Following the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic social service organization, expressed their satisfaction of the United States’ decision to temporarily lift some of its sanctions imposed on Damascus in a Feb. 10 statement.

The organization also expressed their support for the United States’ first aid package which aims to support the victims of the earthquake.

“While the death toll is still rising and the living conditions of the survivors worsen, Sant’Egidio hopes for a sympathetic response from other countries and from the entire international community,” they said.

Sant’Egidio has opened an online donation page and, in the statement, announced the relaunch of their fundraising efforts to support the populations of Aleppo and Idlib, two Syrian regions that have already been affected by 12 years of war and an ongoing cholera epidemic.

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