With confirmation of the most sinister scenarios in terms of the number of victims in Turkey And Syriathe grim list due to two devastating earthquakes continues to grow.

Thursday afternoon Mr. Turkish President Erdogan reported that the death toll in his country had reached 17.134while at the same time in the affected northwest of Syria – where information is missing, as well as the provision of humanitarian assistance – the death toll exceeded 3000.

This was reported by the Syrian state media, citing the country’s Ministry of Health. 1347 dead and 2295 wounded, but only in areas controlled by the presidential regime Bashar al-Assad. In areas controlled rebels against the establishment it is assumed that they have been retrieved dead so far 2000 People. He arrived in these areas four days after the crashthe first convoy with humanitarian aid.

At the same time, although the chances of rescuers to find survivors are reduced to a minimum, Turkey is trying to solve one of the biggest problems that arose from the earthquake: how hosted hundreds of thousands of people in the middle of a harsh winter.

Tents are being set up in stadiums and in stricken city centers, and summer beach resorts — outside the quake zone — are opening their hotel rooms to quake victims.

Approx. 6500 buildings collapsed and many others were damaged, hundreds of thousands of people they lack safe housing.

“Forest” scenes

Syrian refugee, Bayat Village62 years old and his family camped near Kahramanmarasas the earthquake caused cracks in the walls of their house.

“It’s too dangerous to be inside. When we go in for things, we go in like thieves,” he told Reuters. “We spent four years in the camp – and this is more difficult. It’s so dark in here,” he emphasized, his voice breaking and breaking into sobs.

In a dense “forest” of tents set up at the stadium in Kahramanmaras, earthquake victims lined up for steaming kebabs and warm clothing.

25 year old volunteer Fatma Nakar, said she was helping despite the loss of her aunt and nephews in the earthquake. “After we buried them, we came here to work as volunteers,” he stressed, adding that help arrived late due to blocked roads.

OUR Office for the Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters and Emergencies It is estimated that more than 28,000 people who are currently homeless were evacuated from the earthquake zone.

Rage over Twitter blocking

Turkey’s decision to block access to Twitter for about 12 hours from yesterday, Wednesday, until early Thursday morning, as people struggled to find loved ones after devastating earthquakes sparked public outrage at the pace of government response.

Opposition leaders and social media users have criticized the blocking of access to a platform that helps people share information about the arrival of aid and the whereabouts of those still trapped under rubble after Monday’s earthquake.

The Erdogan government has blocked access to social media in the past and has focused in recent months on combating what it calls “disinformation”, leading to yesterday’s block.

Early this morning, full access to Twitter was restored.

Chaos in Syria

Most of Syria is back under presidential control Bashar al-Assadwho, however, has been repeatedly accused by the West of using chemical weapons against his own people, not once, but at least nine times since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.

However northern Syria is a special case. Its northeastern part is largely controlled by Kurdish forces supported by the USA, with a note that the Americans support approx. 900 own soldiers in the north of the country.

northwestern part on the other hand, which is closer to Turkey and affected by the earthquake, is controlled Anchoras well as from rebel groups, with an important role in Syrian affairs also played by Russians which maintain military bases in the country.

Indeed, gang wars and airstrikes make it almost coordinated relief mission impossible from abroad to Syria.

Bye European Union announced on Wednesday the first emergency humanitarian aid package height 3.5 million euros for Syria, it remains unclear how this will be distributed, especially since the Assad regime requires all aid to pass through Damascus first.

Assad may not allow the surrender of the opposition in northern Syria, but Brussels cannot agree to this. UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid today entered northwest Syria through Turkey from a pass Bab Al Khawacarrying blankets, hygiene kits, etc., but not food.

An indicator of the ongoing problems is the position of the French government, which announced through a representative of the French Foreign Ministry that humanitarian assistance to Syria should be provided through UN mechanisms and non-governmental organizations, and not through Assad.

It is also significant what the British Foreign Secretary said without mentioning Assad. James Cleverlyarguing that his country will continue to cooperate on a humanitarian mission with Turkey, the UN and the White Helmets.