Turkiye declares week-long national mourning after deadly earthquake killed thousands

After the deadly earthquakes that occurred on Monday and resulted in more than 2,800 fatalities so far, including at least 1,762 in Turkiye, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a seven-day period of national mourning.

"Due to the earthquakes that took place in our country on February 6, 2023, a national mourning period was declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our country and foreign representations," an english translation of his Twitter post read.

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The earthquakes are Turkiye's worst natural catastrophe since a major quake in 1999 that seriously devastated much of Istanbul, the country's capital, and killed thousands of people. over 10 search and rescue teams from the EU have been activated since the earthquake.

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Other countries have also offered assistance including India, US, UK, Israel and Russia. In addition, there have been calls for the international community to loosen some of the political restrictions on aid entering northwestern Syria.

Watch | Turkiye and Syria struck by powerful earthquakes

In neighbouring Syria, at least 1,073 people have died due to the catastrophic earthquake. Videos emerging from Turkiye showed people waiting for assistance amid collapsed buildings. The weather is itself a challenge right now in the middle east nation. The cold and wet are hampering rescuers in their quake relief efforts.

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