Live: the balance of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria exceeds 7,000 dead, and a state of emergency declared
- The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria now exceeds 7,000 and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in the ten provinces justified by the disaster. The race against time and the cold continues to extricate survivors from the rubble. Follow our lives
The earthquake killed 4,544 in Turkey according to a new official report
The death toll in Turkey from the powerful earthquakes that shook the southeast of the country rose to 4,544 dead on Tuesday, according to a new report released by ASSAD, Turkey's official relief organization.
The death toll brings to 6,256 the total number of victims in Turkey and neighboring Syria, in a series of earthquakes among the most violent to have hit the region for almost a century.
First telephone conversation between Presidents Sisi and Assad since 2014
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi on Tuesday called his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, according to the two presidencies, an unprecedented conversation between the two heads of state since the election of the first city in 2014.
"President Sisi called President Assad" and "presented his condolences to him", affirming "to have ordered to bring all possible humanitarian aid to Syria", indicated Ahmed Fahmy, the spokesman of the Egyptian president, in a press release.
The two heads of Egyptian and Syrian diplomacy met on Monday, Cairo also promising "emergency humanitarian aid" without giving details.
For its part, the Syrian presidency assures that "President Assad thanked Egypt for this position which reflects the fraternal relations between the two countries and the two brotherly peoples".
France will deploy its field hospital based in the Gard in Turkey
France will deploy a field hospital and 83 additional rescuers in Turkey, the firefighters of Gard, at the head of this mission, said on Tuesday.
This mobile hospital "will be autonomous for a minimum of 15 days and will be able to provide, in addition to other lighter care, 10 to 15 surgical procedures per day", specified in a press release by the firefighters of Gard.
The structure of almost 2,000 m2 has a delivery block, two operating blocks, a laboratory, a pharmacy, a sterilization room, and a resuscitation unit, as well as rooms for reception and follow-up of the wounded, according to the same source, which specifies that its deployment could be extended if necessary.
Syrian Red Crescent calls for EU sanctions against Damascus to be lifted
The Syrian Red Crescent has called on the European Union (EU) to lift sanctions against Damascus in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, which killed more than 1,600 people in the country.
“I call on all EU countries to lift economic sanctions against Syria” because “it is time, after this earthquake”, said Khaled Haboubati, director of the Syrian Red Crescent at a conference press in Damascus.
The Red Crescent, which operates in government areas, also called on "the United States Agency for Development (USAID) to provide assistance to the Syrian people".
President Bashar al-Assad's Syria has been under international sanctions since the start of the war in 2011, which has considerably reduced the country's economic exchanges with the rest of the world.
Four people were arrested in Turkey for "provocative" messages on the earthquake
Turkish police said they had arrested four people after "provocative" messages posted on social media about the previous day's 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey.
