U.N.: Aid was too slow; quake toll keeps rising

The international community and the Syrian government did not act quickly enough last month to help people in need in the rebel-held northwest after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, a U.n.-backed commission said Monday.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said there should be an investigation into why it took a week to open border crossings for aid. It added that war-torn Syria “now needs a comprehensive cease-fire that is fully respected” for civilians, including aid workers, to be safe.

The number of people known to have died from the 7.8magnitude earthquake and strong aftershocks continues to rise. The death toll in Turkey is now at 48,448, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Monday.

That brings the combined toll including those killed in Syria to more than 54,000.