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Indonesia ‘stands ready’ to assist Turkey, Syria
Indonesia said it was prepared to provide assistance to regions affected by a series of deadly earthquakes that rocked parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday, government officials have said.
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This aerial view shows residents searching for victims and survivors amid the rubble of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in the village of Besnia near the twon of Harim, in Syria's rebel-held noryhwestern Idlib province on the border with Turkey, on Feb. 6, 2022. (AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)
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ndonesia said it was prepared to provide assistance to regions affected by a series of deadly earthquakes that rocked parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday, government officials have said, as the death toll in a tragedy further complicated by harsh winter conditions soared past 5,000.
Rescuers had to brave freezing weather, aftershocks and collapsing buildings in search of survivors buried in the rubble by the first massive 7.8-magnitude quake that struck early on Monday in a vast border region already plagued by armed conflict, refugee and health crises.
At least 3,419 people have died in Turkey and 1,602 in government- and rebel-controlled parts of Syria, bringing the total to at least 5,021, officials and medical sources were quoted by AFP as saying on Tuesday.
Since the disaster, a raft of partner countries have pledged emergency relief, particularly from other disaster-plagued regions across the globe, Indonesia among them.
The government is keen to “prepare any assistance necessary” to Ankara, the Foreign Ministry affirmed on Tuesday, after an initial aid package delivery coordinated with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
Previously, the Turkish Embassy in Jakarta sent a “most urgent” letter to Indonesian authorities requesting the assistance of medical and rescue teams, which was shortly followed up by Jakarta’s “first batch of aid” in the form of non-perishable food items.
“The food container is now on its way to the Turkish Red Crescent, filled with 2,000 boxes of instant food, portable stoves and gas cylinders,” said Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, the Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey, on Tuesday, in a video conference while on his way to evacuate a group of Indonesian nationals to the capital Ankara.
