The massive earthquake that affected Turkey and Syria has already left more than 24,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of people homeless, while rescues continued this Saturday among the rubble and international aid gradually reached the devastated areas, according to official information.
The icy cold makes the task of rescuers difficult and punishes the survivors, in a scenario where at least 870,000 people They urgently need food and, in Syria alone, 5.3 million were left homeless, according to estimates by the United Nations (UN).
The World Food Program requested 77 million dollars to provide food rations to at least 590,000 people displaced by the earthquake in Turkey and 284,000 in Syria, the AFP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the UN human rights office on Friday urged all parties in the affected area, where Kurdish militants and Syrian rebels are operating, to allow humanitarian access.
He Kurdistan Workers Partyconsidered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, announced that he suspended his armed struggle to contribute to recovery work.
For its part, the Syrian government announced that it will authorize the supply of international aid to areas controlled by rebels in the northwest of the country, hit hard by the earthquake.
So far, only two humanitarian convoys have crossed this week from Turkey into this rebel-held area where four million people live.
The UN called for an immediate ceasefire in the country and the opening of more crossing points for humanitarian aid.which for now can only transit through the Bab al Hawa border post.
The UN Security Council is due to meet to discuss the situation in Syria, possibly early next week.
Turkish diplomacy affirmed that it is working to open two other crossing points “with the regions under the control of the” Syrian government.
Meanwhile, thousands of people sleep in tents or in their cars and gather by bonfires to warm themselves in the freezing temperatures, for fear of returning home or because their homes no longer exist.
The work of the rescue teams removing people alive from the rubble continues, including several children and a six-month pregnant woman who were saved this Friday, according to official information.
The latest balance provided this Saturday indicates that the number of deaths amounts to 24,218 people, of which 20,665 in Turkey and 3,553 in Syria.
After five days of the earthquake, the deadliest since 1939 in the region, the initial shock gives way in Turkey to rage and anger at the government’s response and the low quality of construction. The authorities estimate 12,141 buildings destroyed or seriously damaged.
Faced with criticism of the government’s management, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized. “There were so many damaged buildings that unfortunately we were unable to speed up our interventions as we would have liked”said the president during a visit to Adiyaman.
Among the multiple tragedies of the telluric movement, one involves a group of 24 Cypriot boys between the ages of 11 and 14 who were in Turkey for a volleyball tournament when the earthquake engulfed his hotel.
Turkish media say that 19 people from the group, which also included 15 adults, were confirmed dead. Ten of the bodies have already been repatriated to their homes in Northern Cyprus.
