Kurdistan Region president visits quake-hit Turkey
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region President Nehirvan Barzani on Tuesday arrived in Turkey’s quake-stricken areas in the country’s south, where he met with Kurdish rescue workers.
Bursa Governor Yakup Canbolat and his deputy received President Barzani at the headquarters of the Turkish disaster management agency, AFAD, in Gaziantep, one of the hardest-hit areas by the quake.
Barzani was briefed by the local officials on the causalities and scale of the disaster that had so far killed more than 3,200 in the province and wounded another 15,000 people.
The president expressed the condolences of the Kurdistan Region and President Masoud Barzani to the families of those killed in the earthquake, wishing those injured a speedy recovery.
“Every household in Kurdistan Region mourns the tragedy,” the president said, adding many parties and social events had been canceled since last week in solidarity with the country.
“Turkey has always stood by us during very difficult times,” Barzani said.
More than 31,000 has been killed by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, wounding over 80,000 others. While 6,000 buildings have completely collapsed, thousands of other structures are no longer habitable due to the serious damages they had sustained.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that reconstruction efforts will begin soon.
“I am confident that Turkey’s government and president are serious about the reconstruction efforts,” Barzani said, adding he is certain the country will overcome the crisis.
He also pledged that the Region would continue supporting the country in any way possible.
"We will do what we can [to help] Rojava," the president told reporters in Islahiye, referring to the predominantly-Kurdish areas in northern Syria that had similarly been devastated by the Feb. 6 quake and its many aftershocks.
Barzani on Sunday visited the Turkish Consulate General in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, where he signed the book of condolence for the victims of the disaster.
#Kurdistan @IKRPresident Nechirvan Barzani signs book of condolence at the Consulate General of Türkiye in #Erbil, in the wake of the devastating earthquake on February 6th. pic.twitter.com/jRG6TDOQcD
— Kurdistan Region Presidency (@KurdistanRegion) February 12, 2023
The Kurdish president extended his appreciation to the work of the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), a Kurdish aid group, that is currently undertaking rescue efforts in the country. He later visited the rescue workers.