Turkey’s minister of interior accused Germany and Austria of defamation on Saturday, after the countries’ rescue crews in Turkey announced halting operations due to security risk.
The teams of those countries pointed out to the increasing clashes in the earthquake-hit regions in Turkey as the reason for temporarily stopping their rescue work.
Süleyman Soylu said that such news were lies, adding that criminal offences in fact have decreased in the region after Monday’s twin earthquakes.
“How is it possible to cast such an aspersion to this nation? Isn’t is a disgrace? Our country has been passing through its most difficult times, passing through a period after what the whole world calls the biggest earthquake, but they are pursuing to benefit it politically,” he said.
The minister said Turkey’s security forces were totally in control of the situation, with 230 people in the area under custody.
Despite Soylu’s comments, many survivors from 10 provinces in Turkey’s south affected heavily from the earthquakes on 6 February, report severe security issues, saying they were worried of protecting their belongings especially at night time.
An earthquake victim from Hatay province who joined journalist Nevşin Mengü’s live program on YouTube, said that they had been witnessing horrible incidents. The woman, who lost 23 relatives in the earthquake, added that some people had tried to steal their mobile phones, while they had been trying to save their remaining belongings under the wreckage.
She said many shops had been looted.
“I am talking about something else, not food safety. I am really talking about the security of life,” the woman said. “When it gets dark here in the evening, life turns into a nightmare,” she continued.
