Death toll rises above 5,000 after Turkey, Syria earthquakes

 Freezing weather conditions and snowfall in the devastated region have increased the difficulties for rescue workers.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared seven days of national mourning, and Syria has appealed to the United Nations for help following devastating earthquakes that killed more than 5,000 people and toppled buildings across southeast Turkey and northern Syria.

Authorities fear the death toll from Monday’s predawn magnitude 7.8 temblor, followed by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake and several aftershocks will continue to climb as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across a region already suffering under Syria’s 12-year civil war and a refugee crisis.

Rescuers searched through the frigid night into Tuesday morning, hoping to dig more survivors out of the rubble as those trapped cried out for help from beneath mountains of debris.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday that the death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey had risen to 3,419.

Orhan Tatar, an official with Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), said earlier on Tuesday that 20,426 others were injured. Tatar said more than 5,700 buildings had also been destroyed.

In Syria, at least 1,602 people were killed and about 3,500 others were injured, according to the Ministry of Health and the White Helmets rescue organisation.

Freezing winter weather conditions and snowfall in the devastated region have added to the plight of many thousands of people left injured and homeless by the earthquake. Downed buildings and destroyed roads have hampered efforts to find survivors and get crucial aid into affected areas.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said millions of people need help.

“And their need is even more acute because it is winter and they are facing cold temperatures, snow and rain.”

Ten cities in southern Turkey have been declared disaster areas, according to Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Istanbul. Freezing temperatures and snow have hampered rescue efforts, and more bad weather is expected to hit the region. Electricity supplies and natural gas have been cut off in many areas and the government is working to restore both services.

“A full picture of the devastation is only starting to emerge – devastation that will likely become more evident as the sun rises” on Tuesday, Ghoneim said.

Seismic activity continued to rattle the region on Monday, including another jolt nearly as powerful as the initial earthquake.

The US Geological Survey measured the initial earthquake at 7.8, with a depth of 18km (11 miles). Hours later, a 7.6 magnitude temblor also struck. The second jolt caused a multi-storey apartment building in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa to topple onto the street in a cloud of dust as bystanders screamed, according to video of the scene.

Dramatic video footage aired on Turkish television showed buildings collapsing in real time. Visuals showed rescue workers pulling a child alive from a flattened building. The child was then reunited with distraught parents in snow-covered streets.

More than 7,800 people have been rescued across 10 provinces, according to Orhan Tatar, an official with Turkey’s disaster management authority. Strained medical facilities have quickly filled with injured people, rescue workers said.

The Syrian American Medical Society, which runs hospitals in northern Syria and southern Turkey, said in a statement that its facilities were “overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways” and called urgently for “trauma supplies and a comprehensive emergency response to save lives and treat the injured”.

Governments and aid agencies have rushed to deploy personnel, funds and equipment to Turkey and Syria.

Jordan is sending emergency aid to Syria and Turkey on the orders of King Abdullah II, while Egypt has pledged urgent humanitarian help to Turkey. Lebanon’s cash-strapped government is also sending Red Cross and Civil Defence first responders and firefighters to Turkey to help with its rescue efforts.

The European Union has mobilised search and rescue teams, and the bloc’s Copernicus satellite system has been activated to provide emergency mapping services. At least 13 member countries have offered assistance. The United Kingdom and United States said they are also ready to send help to Syria, but Washington has ruled out dealing directly with the Syrian government.

Germany’s foreign ministry said it is coordinating its aid response with EU partners and readying deliveries of emergency generators, tents, blankets and water treatment equipment.

The US is coordinating immediate assistance to NATO-member Turkey, including teams to support search and rescue efforts. In California, nearly 100 Los Angeles County firefighters and structural engineers, along with six specially trained dogs, were being sent to Turkey to help with rescue efforts.

Russian rescue teams from the Emergencies Ministry are preparing to fly to Syria, where the Russian military deployed in that country already has sent 10 units comprising 300 people to help clear debris and search for survivors. The Russian military has set up points to distribute humanitarian assistance. Russia also has offered help to Turkey, which has been accepted.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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At least 34 people killed in clashes in Somaliland, hospital says

Fighting erupts in the breakaway region between its forces and anti-government fighters, a Somaliland official says.

At least 34 people have been killed in fighting in Somalia’s northern breakaway region of Somaliland, two doctors at a public hospital in the town of Laascaanood say.

Fighting broke out in eastern Somaliland on Monday morning between forces from the region, which declared its independence in 1991, and fighters opposed to its government, Somaliland’s interior minister said. The battle was reported a month after about 20 people were killed in protests over control of disputed areas.

Somaliland has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence and has seen opposition to its claims over land on its eastern border with Puntland, one of Somalia’s semi-autonomous regions.

Mohamed Farah, a doctor at Laascaanood Hospital in the administrative capital of the Sool region, said at least 34 people were killed and 40 injured in Monday’s fighting. Farah said he had seen the bodies brought to the hospital.

A second doctor at the hospital confirmed the death toll and said the facility had been targeted with mortar shells. Somaliland authorities could not immediately be reached for comment on the death toll.

SOURCE: REUTERS

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Deadly protests against regional force in DR Congo

 Hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets for a second day in Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least two people died on Monday following violent clashes between protesters and Congolese security forces.

The demonstrators accuse the UN and the East African Regional Force of failing to support the Congolese military operations against the M23 rebel group.

Fighting has intensified in the region in recent days with the group taking key towns in eastern DR Congo.

Protesters have taken to the streets in several neighbourhoods of Goma, in North Kivu province, bringing the city to a standstill.

On Monday, security forces fired tear gas to disperse crowds who pelted stones and threw petrol bombs at the UN headquarters in Goma.

Reports said a church in one of the neighbourhoods was demolished during the clashes.

The rebels have captured large swathes of territory in the volatile province in recent days and have threatened to march on to Goma, the region’s commercial hub.

The recent fighting has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands more.

Source: BBC

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Bank manager arrested for ‘hoarding’ new Nigerian notes

 The Nigerian agency that investigates financial crimes has arrested a branch manager of a commercial bank in the capital, Abuja, for allegedly refusing to load ATMs with cash despite having the redesigned banknotes in the vaults.

The country recently redesigned its currency, but the changeover has not gone according to plan as there are not enough of the new notes to go around.

This has sparked anger and led to spontaneous protests at banks. The deadline for use of old banknotes is on Friday.

On Monday, officers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stormed the bank and whisked away the operations manager for questioning.

It said the bank had 29 million Naira ($63,000; £52,000) of the new banknotes in its vaults – which officers ordered to be loaded on ATMs.

It’s unclear if the arrested bank manager has commented on the accusation, but the commission said some banks were “sabotaging government’s monetary policy”.

Source: BBC

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School invites barbers to shave off female students’ hair

 Some new first-year students reporting to a school in western Kenya have had their hair shaved off to comply with a strict “dress” code.

Escorted by their parents and guardians, the new learners queued at various desks to go through the admission process, those found to have long hair were directed to a group of barbers.

“Welcome Kereri Girls, to the girls who are here for the admission process and you have long hair, it is the school’s policy that you get shaved,” an announcer said, local media report.

“To my left, there is a barber please proceed there to get assistance. Thank you,” the announcer said.

A local TV station shared a video of a learner having her hair shaved off.

Some people commenting on the story have criticised the Kisii County boarding school, saying it was focussing on less-important issues instead of the learners’ welfare.

“Another problem with our Kenyan schools, instead of focusing on the mental health and welfare of students they focus on the physical issues – a head that is perfectly shaved but with poor mental health is like a 2023 model ranger over without an engine,” one tweeter posted.

“Students shouldn’t be shaved bald with the hot sun. The hair protects the skin. Sad that we still encourage this nonsense,” politician Robert Alai tweeted.

Strict dress code rules are common in Kenyan education institutions including some universities.

Source: BBC

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Christian Atsu: Ghana star ‘removed from wreckage with injuries’ after quake

 Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu has been pulled from the rubble of a building in Hatay with injuries, his manager Mustafa Özat has told Turkish radio.

The Hatayspor player, whose career has included 107 appearances for Newcastle as well as spells at Chelsea, Everton and Bournemouth, was trapped after the earthquakes that killed at least 4,800 people in Turkey and Syria on 6 February.

Hatay was one of the areas closest to the epicentre of the quake, and has suffered extensive damage. The club’s sporting director Taner Savut remains in the collapsed building,

“Christian Atsu was removed from the wreckage with injuries,” Özat told Turkish radio channel Radyo Gol.

“Unfortunately, our sporting director Taner Savut is still under the rubble.”

Özat added: “Hatay was deeply affected. We are coming towards the end of the most dangerous hours.”

Source: BBC

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South Africans Trapped Inside Prison That Collapsed in Earthquake-Hit Turkey

 South Africa’s ambassador to Turkey, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, has confirmed that a prison where seven South Africans were detained collapsed during the deadly series of earthquakes that ripped through Turkey and Syria, reports.

Letsatsi-Duba says her team is not aware of the extent of damage or how many South Africans have made it out alive.

The ambassador added that no other South Africans were reported to have been caught up in the quake, but the prison was a concern.

“We don’t have any people that are working in the area. We are told the prison has also collapsed but we don’t know as yet whether we have survivors or whether people are still trapped under the rubble. We are waiting, anxiously so, to receive information,” said Letsatsi-Duba.

According to News24, the humanitarian aid organization, the Gift of the Givers, said it would deploy its team to help with search-and-rescue efforts in Turkey. It said it expected the death toll in Turkey and Syria to increase as the search continued.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has, on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, expressed his deep sadness at the large-scale loss of life and extent of injuries inflicted by an earthquake that has affected the nations of Türkiye and Syria. “Our nation and government are deeply saddened by the unthinkable loss of life in Turkiye and Syria. Our hearts go out to families who have lost loved ones or are searching for relatives and we wished injured survivors a full recovery,” said Ramaphosa.

At least 4,800 people had been killed and thousands more injured after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. The World Health Organisation has warned that the death toll will likely increase as much as eight times, as rescuers find more victims in the rubble.

By Melody Chironda

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