Kuwait offers condolences to Turkey as earthquake toll hits 11,700

Kuwait: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al Abdullah Al Sabah called Turkish Foreign Minister Kavsogur on Wednesday to speak with the government on behalf of Kuwait’s political leaders, government and people about the victims of the recent earthquake. He expressed his sincere condolences to the Turkish people with whom he has a sister relationship. He prayed to Almighty Allah to enshrine the deceased in Paradise and to grant speedy recovery to the wounded.

The conversation also addressed the instructions of His Highness Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah regarding the dispatch of emergency aid, including medical and security teams, to Turkey. To the leader, the government and the people, he paid tribute to the Turkish leader and thanked him for the disaster relief. , said it embodies the deep-rooted friendship and cooperation between the two countries, as well as Kuwait’s distinctive humanitarian role around the world.

In a message written in the Turkish embassy’s condolence book, Sheikh Salem expressed his deep sorrow and heartfelt consolation over this grave tragedy. He reiterated his sympathy and solidarity with the Turkish people in Kuwait and his support to help them overcome the effects of this crisis. He also expressed Kuwait’s condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery and the missing persons found.

Turkish Ambassador to Kuwait, Tuba Nur Sonmez, expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to all fraternal and friendly countries that are supporting Turkey economically and emotionally, and acknowledged the great role played by Kuwait and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I have come to praise and express my condolences in person. She has been in constant contact with her since the first moments of the earthquake, and she stressed that Kuwaiti political leaders are supporting Turkey during this painful crisis.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem also said public health is a top priority. He stressed Kuwait’s “quick response” to the disaster, citing His Highness Sheikh Nawaf’s instructions for immediate assistance to the affected areas. Kuwait is in solidarity with Turkey following the disaster, the minister said. Emphasis and hope that Ankara will overcome this painful tragedy.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday acknowledged “shortcomings” after criticizing the government’s response to the devastating earthquake that killed more than 11,700 people in Turkey and Syria. The sheer scale of the disaster, which has collapsed thousands of buildings and trapped an unknown number of people, overwhelmed relief efforts already hampered by freezing weather. In some cases, they watched helplessly as their relatives called for help, and eventually fell silent under the rubble.

Still, search parties continued to pull survivors out of the rubble three days after a magnitude 7.8 quake, one of the deadliest earthquakes of the century, even as the death toll continues to rise. Amid mounting criticism online, Erdoğan admitted to problems with the response after visiting one of his worst-hit places, the epicenter of the quake, Kahramammaras. “Of course there are drawbacks. The conditions are self-explanatory. It is impossible to prepare for a disaster like this,” he said.

According to AFP journalists and web monitoring group NetBlocks, Twitter was also non-functional on Turkish mobile networks. The window for rescue teams to find survivors is narrowing as he approaches the 72-hour mark, which disaster experts consider most likely to save lives. But on Wednesday, rescuers pulled children from under a collapsed building in Turkey’s Hatay province, where an entire town was destroyed. Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake killed 9,057 people in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria, bringing the total to 11,719, according to officials and medical sources, but experts’ worst fears came true If so, it could double.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that time is running out for thousands of injured and those at risk of being trapped. Lack of support has led survivors to say they felt alone in responding to the disaster. The White Helmets are seeking international help in their ‘race against time’.

Since the disaster, they have struggled to pull survivors out from under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings in war-torn northwestern Syria that are not under government control. “International Rescue must come to our area,” said Mohamed Shivli, spokesman for the group officially known as Syrian Civil Defense. “People are dying every second. We are racing against time,” he told AFP from neighboring Turkey.

The issue of aid to Syria is a sensitive one, and the sanctioned government of Damascus has made a formal petition to the EU for help, said the EU crisis commissioner Janez Lenarcic. A decade-long civil war and Syrian and Russian airstrikes had already destroyed hospitals, collapsing the economy and causing shortages of electricity, fuel and water.

The European Commission “encourages EU member states to respond to Syria’s medical supplies and food needs, while monitoring to ensure that no aid is “diverted” by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. ‘, Lenarcic pointed out. Dozens of countries, including the United States, China and the Gulf States, have pledged help, and search teams and relief supplies have already arrived.

Winter storms have compounded the misery by rendering many roads (some of them damaged by the earthquake) nearly impassable, causing traffic jams that stretch for miles in some areas. The European Union has swiftly dispatched a rescue team to Turkey after a devastating earthquake hit Turkey near its border with Syria on Monday. Initially, however, it provided minimal assistance to Syria through existing humanitarian aid programs. This is because the EU has imposed sanctions on the Assad regime since 2011 over a brutal crackdown on protesters that has turned into a civil war.