Türkiye-Syria Quake: Death Toll Surpasses 28,000; Austrian Soldier Calls Off Search Operation

Türkiye-Syria Quake: The death toll has surpassed 28,000 in Türkiye and Syria after five days of tragic devastation by Monday’s quake-hit.

Despite biting cold weather that has compounded the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid, hundreds of thousands of locals and several international rescue teams are still working to search and pull out people from the rubble.

Ahead of the search operation in the affected countries, the Austrian soldiers and German rescue workers paused their operation in southern Hatay. They said that there is a difficult security situation and clashes between local groups, without giving further details.

Clashes between groups

According to the Türkiye disaster agency, approx 32,000 people from Turkish bodies are working on search and rescue efforts. In addition, there are 8,294 international rescuers.

However, on Saturday, the Austrian soldiers suspended the searches over a “worsening security situation,” an army spokesman told the media. Later, almost two dog handlers were rescued work under the protection of the Turkish forces.

As per an NGO spokesperson, a similar decision to call off the search operations was taken in Germany by the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (TSW) and an NGO specializing in helping victims of natural disasters, ISAR Germany.

The ISAR spokesperson, Stefan Heine said, “There are more and more reports of clashes between different factions, shots have also been fired.”

Moreover, the operations manager of ISAR, Steven Bayer said that he expected security to worsen as food, water, and hope become more scarce. “We are watching the security situation very closely as it develops,” the manager added.

Also Read: Türkiye-Syria Quake: UN Warns About Urgent Need Of Food; Death Toll Soars Over 24,000

President Erdogan gives no response to the clashes

Despite the clashes between the groups, Türkiye’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan hasn’t commented on the reported unrest in Hatay. He did reiterate that the government would take action against those involved in crimes in the region.

“We’ve declared a state of emergency,” the president said during a visit to the disaster zone. “It means that, from now on, the people who are involved in looting or kidnapping should know that the state’s firm hand is on their backs,” he added.