The death toll of the devastating earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria last Monday continued to rise, as international organizations warn of dire humanitarian conditions in Syria.
In the two countries, the death toll neared 17,200: at least 14,000 in Turkey and more than 3,100 in neighboring Turkey.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced that the death toll in Turkey has risen to 14,014, with more than 63,000 injured, he told reporters during a visit to the quake-hit province of Gaziantep.
The Turkish leader said more than 6,400 buildings had been destroyed and that Turkey aimed to build new three and four-storey buildings in the region within one year.
Al-Manar reporter in Turkey indicated that the relief works have continued, adding that six survivors have been rescued in Hatay and Kahramanmaraş.
Meanwhile, health sources in Syria reported that at least 3,162 people have been killed and more than 5,000 others have been wounded so far by the massive earthquake.
The Syrian Health Ministry recorded 1,262 deaths, as of Wednesday. The White Helmets, a Western-funded group operating in parts of Syria that are controlled by terrorist groups, has put the figure at more than 1,900.
According to Al-Manar correspondent in Aleppo, the situation in the city is disastrous as the removal of debris and rescue world miss huge equipment as well as medical drugs.
‘Crisis over Crisis in Syria’
The World Health Organization has estimated that in the long run, the disaster may impact as many as 23 million people, five million of whom are already in a vulnerable state. Syria is already suffering from a decade-long war, which has degraded its healthcare system and put some parts of the country under self-rule.
El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Syria, called the situation “a crisis on top of a crisis” during a press conference on Wednesday. Stockpiles of food and medicine that aid groups had pre-positioned in Syria are being rapidly depleted, he warned.
“Whatever we can do, we have to do it together, driven by humanitarian needs. We just hope that the political considerations will get out of the way and let us do our job,” he said.
Shaaban Slams Western Countries
For her part, the Syrian Presidency’s Special Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban slammed Western countries, saying they do not provide necessary aid to the Syrian government, which is dealing with the fallout of the devastating earthquake, and only care about Turkey or areas in Syria that are controlled by terrorist or opposition groups.
“Unfortunately, the West only cares about areas where the terrorists are – where the White Helmets are – but they do not care about the areas in which most Syrian people live… Most of the money, all of the equipment has been dispatched to Turkey from Europe and from the US. Nothing to Syria from Europe, at all,” Shaaban told media.
Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations complained that Damascus had a “lack of capabilities and lack of equipment,” blaming Western countries over sanctions imposed on the Arab country which has been already suffering for more than a decade of foreign-backed war.
International aid organizations have renewed pressure on the US to lift sanctions on Syria, to facilitate relief efforts in the country. Aside from economic restrictions, Washington has for years been supporting various militant groups seeking to overthrow the Syrian government.
Criticism Mounts over Ankara’s Response
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan admitted there were problems with his government’s initial response to a devastating earthquake in southern Turkey, amid anger from those left destitute and frustrated over the slow arrival of rescue teams.
Erdogan, who contests an election in May, said on a visit to the disaster zone that operations were now working normally and promised no one would be left homeless.
LIVE: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks in Gaziantep during a visit to assess damage with officials and meet with victims of #TurkiyeQuakes https://t.co/ASOfYLK3UB
— PresserWatch (@PresserWatch) February 9, 2023
Across a swathe of southern Turkey, people sought temporary shelter and food in freezing winter weather and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends might still lie buried.
Rescuers were still finding some people alive. But many Turks have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise and support to rescue those trapped – sometimes even as they could hear cries for help.
Source: Agencies
