The head of the Turkish Red Crescent resigned on Friday, three months after a dispute arose over the sale of tents to the charity in the early days after devastating earthquakes in February that left more than 1.5 million people homeless, Reuters reported.

The Red Crescent sparked public debate after it emerged that it had sold the tents to another charity, AHBAP, in the early days after the earthquake, instead of sending them directly to the disaster zone.

Kerem Kinik, who left his post, initially said he was aware of the sale and called it legitimate, claiming the sale was made by a subsidiary of the agency. But he later denied knowing about the sale and said he would have prevented it if he had known in advance.

February’s main 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey, killing more than 54,000 people in Turkey and neighboring Syria.

People in the region complained about the slow response of the authorities in the first days after the disaster, which drew criticism from the government.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on the campaign trail and at risk of losing the election, said on Thursday that he was “upset” that the Red Crescent was selling tents. “The Red Crescent cannot sell tents. They must correct this mistake immediately,” he said during a meeting with youths that was pre-recorded and broadcast on Thursday.

On Friday, the relief association announced the resignation of President Kinnick and said it would hold a special convention. (News.ro)