Earthquake relief from parts of Syria controlled by government forces to territory controlled by rebel groups has been delayed due to approval problems from the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a UN official told Reuters today.

The Syrian government last week expressed its readiness to send humanitarian aid to the northern zone, which is largely under the control of the jihadist group and which was devastated by Monday’s earthquake.

A spokesman for the UN humanitarian aid agency told Reuters that “there are problems with the approval of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,” without giving details.

The UN representative in Damascus declined to comment, saying the UN is “still working with the parties involved to gain access to the area.”

There was no immediate response from the organization’s press office to a request for comment.

A source for the group in Idlib told Reuters that the group does not allow the transfer of humanitarian supplies from government-controlled parts of Syria and that aid must flow from Turkey to the north.

“Turkey has opened all roads and we will not let the regime take advantage of the situation to show that it is helping,” the source said.

The fighting in Syria, where civil war has been going on for almost 12 years, is a problem for aid workers trying to help earthquake victims.

A humanitarian aid convoy from the Kurdish-controlled northeast of Syria, with fuel and other aid, was withdrawn on Thursday from the northwest dominated by Turkish-backed rebels.

Source: Reuters, APE-MPE.