Tunisia sends aid to quake-hit Turkey, Syria

Tunisia has joined the long list of countries that are sending aide to the quake-hit Turkey and Syria.

President Kais Saied had ordered “humanitarian aid” for countries, including over 15 tonnes of blankets and food, after they were hit on Monday by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which killed and injured thousands of people.

Dozens of nations including the United States, China and the Gulf States have pledged to help, and search teams as well as relief supplies have begun to arrive by air.

A winter storm has compounded the misery by rendering many roads, some of them damaged by the quake almost impassable, resulting in traffic jams that stretch for kilometres in some regions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has “declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 southeastern provinces”.

The World Health Organisation has warned that up to 23 million people could be affected by the massive earthquake and urged nations to rush help to the disaster zone.

africanews