Tuesday, October 3, 2023
 
 

Erdogan warns of propaganda as Turkey eathquake death toll rises to 29

- Advertisement -

At least 29 people have died and thousands injured in eastern Turkey after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocked the region on Friday.
Officials said that rescue teams are searching for people who are trapped under the rubble. The environment ministry said the earthquake caused five buildings to collapse in Elazig, and heavily damaged a number of buildings in the area.
However, the country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of negative propaganda about the country being unprepared for earthquakes: “Do not listen to rumors, do not listen to anyone’s negative, contrary propaganda, and know that we are your servants,” Erdogan said during his visit to Elazig.
He also seems to have rejected the rescue teams offered by other countries, as well as by neighboring Greece, who is in conflict with Turkey over maritime boundaries and gas exploration rights: “Our state does not need anything”, Erdogan told reporters.
He later tweeted that all measures were being taken to “ensure that the earthquake that occurred in Elazig and was felt in many provinces is overcome with the least amount of loss”.
A total of 18 people were now thought to have died in Elazig, including two people who died of heart attacks.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Latest

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off...

Don't miss

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off...

Europe’s lawmakers see opportunity for regime change a year after Iran’s latest uprising

On September 21, representatives of various political groups held...

Strange goings on in Northern Greece seem to worry Ankara

Government-linked Turkish media have indicated concern about a series of visits and events in Greece’s Evros prefecture -- the Greek-Turkish border region -- which...

Boomerang! Greek socialists’ election jiggering backfires

Even though the Greek left-socialist party Syriza massively reconfigured the electoral system in 2016 to favor their long-term return plans before being ousted by...

EU-Turkey earthquake relief conference: Time to get serious

The European Union is hosting a reconstruction conference in Brussels on March 20 to focus on the aftermath of Turkey’s devastating February 6 earthquakes,...

Recovery from the disaster of the century needs more than a few months of international assistance

Two devastating earthquakes hit the Turkish-Syrian border on February 6. The epicenter of the first 7.7 magnitude quake struck 34 kilometers west of Gaziantep,...

Eclipsed by Ukraine concerns, Blinken visits Turkey and Greece

After attending the Munich Security Conference on February on 17-19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed for a brief regional mission to Turkey...

Turkey-Syria earthquake relief efforts spawn new diplomatic initiatives

With rescue efforts continuing after a devastating 7.8 Richter earthquake that took place on the Turkey-Syria border on February 6, survivors are miraculously still...

Turkey’s seismic shift

This breakthrough in normalization between Armenia and Turkey comes amid a much wider context, well beyond the simple validation of earthquake diplomacy to elevate crisis response over conflict retention. 

Schengen Zone tremblors center on Bulgaria and Romania

The Netherlands announced on December 2 that it will accept Romania and Croatia's joining the EU’s special passport-free Schengen Zone but intended to block...