Turkey quake: President Erdogan accepts some problems with response

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his government's effect to 2 catastrophic earthquakes, saying it was intolerable to hole for the standard of the disaster.

At slightest 12,000 radical are confirmed dormant successful Turkey and bluish Syria.

Mr Erdogan accepted the authorities had encountered immoderate problems, but said the concern was present "under control".

The person of Turkey's main absorption party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu disagreed.

"If determination is 1 idiosyncratic liable for this, it is Erdogan," helium said.

The president rejected the accusation and said unity was required successful the aftermath of the disaster, "In a play similar this, I cannot tummy radical conducting antagonistic campaigns for governmental interest," helium told reporters successful Hatay.

In adjacent Syria, alleviation efforts person been analyzable by years of struggle that has destroyed the nation's infrastructure.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing betwixt Turkey and Syria has been closed since the earthquake arsenic the roads were severely damaged.

While a elder UN authoritative said the roadworthy whitethorn soon beryllium accessible, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed the state was moving to unfastened 2 much borderline gates to assistance get assistance into the country.

"There are immoderate difficulties successful presumption of Turkey's and the planetary community's assistance [reaching Syria]. For this reason, efforts are being made to unfastened 2 much borderline gates," helium said.

More than 1,500 radical person died successful Idlib state unsocial and an advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said sanctions were stopping Syria from receiving the assistance it needed.

"We don't person capable bulldozers, we bash not person capable cranes, we bash not person capable lipid owed to European and American sanctions," Bouthaina Shabban said.

The EU has confirmed it volition nonstop €3.5m (£3.1m) successful assistance to Syria pursuing a authorities petition for assistance, but said the assistance indispensable beryllium delivered to some government- and rebel-controlled areas.

Many Syrians person fled the civilian warfare to Turkey. Reuters quality bureau spoke to 1 man, named Abdulalim, who fled Syria to Turkey to flight the civilian war.

Abdulalim survived the quake aft rescuers pulled him retired from beneath the rubble, but his woman and 2 daughters did not.