Earthquake rescue hampered by security concerns

• The deteriorating security situation in southern Turkey has hampered rescue operation.
• Leading to conflicts between unidentified groups and allegations of theft.
• Erdogan declared a state of emergency and promised to punish law breaker.

The UN aid chief has described the earthquake as the “worst event in 100 years” and has called for regional politics to be set aside.

International organizations have claimed that the deteriorating security situation in southern Turkey has hampered rescue operations in the wake of Monday’s tragic earthquake.

The Austrian army and German rescuers suspended their search efforts because to conflicts between unidentified groups.

Additionally, there have been allegations of theft.

The president of Turkey declared that he would use emergency powers to punish anyone who broke the law.

Despite some remarkable rescues, the number of fatalities from the earthquake has already topped 25,000, and there is little prospect of discovering many more survivors under the rubble.

Numerous members of the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit were said to have fled hostilities between unidentified factions in the Hatay province early on Saturday, taking refuge in a base camp with other international organizations.

“There is increasing aggression between factions in Turkey,” Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis of the Austrian Armed Forces said in a statement. “The chances of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the safety risk.”

This assessment was echoed by the German branch of the search and rescue group ISAR, which, along with Germany’s Federal Agency for Technical Relief (TSW), also suspended operations.

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

Austria’s ministry of defense later said that the Turkish army had stepped in to offer its protection, allowing their rescue operations to continue.

It is unclear whether German rescue efforts have resumed.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has not yet addressed the rumored unrest in Hatay, although he did emphasize on Saturday that the government would pursue anyone responsible for crimes in the area.

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“We’ve declared a state of emergency,” Mr. Erdogan said during a visit to the disaster zone today. “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.”

The quake has been described as the “worst event in 100 years in this region” by the United Nations aid chief, who was in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras on Saturday.

“I think it’s the worst natural disaster that I’ve ever seen and it’s also the most extraordinary international response,” Martin Griffiths said.

“We have more than a hundred countries who have sent people here so there’s been incredible response but there’s a need for it,” he added.

There are some indications that Mr. Griffiths’ demand for regional politics to be set aside in the wake of the catastrophe is being heeded.

For the first time in 35 years, the border between Turkey and Armenia, two nations long engaged in conflict, was reopened on Saturday to allow supplies to pass through.

Additionally, there are rumours that the Syrian government, which has been at war with opposition groups since 2011, has consented to allow UN aid into those areas.

More than 3,500 people have died as a result of the earthquake in Syria, according to media.

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