hadhwanaag
The U.N. high
commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, said more needs to be done to
support survivors in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of last month's
devastating earthquake as the death toll from the tragedy continues to climb.
Grandi, who concluded a
five-day visit to earthquake-devastated areas, said in a statement Monday,
"The needs on the ground in both countries are enormous and the response
must be better resourced."
He said the focus needs
to be not just on long-term rebuilding projects, but on immediate assistance.
"While it is
critical to think about and support longer term efforts, much more humanitarian
aid and early recovery resources are needed so that people can begin to rebuild
their lives and livelihoods," he said.
"The level of
destruction and devastation is shocking and in many places, it is
apocalyptic," Grandi added.
Turkish Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu said Monday that the death toll in Turkey had risen to
48,448.
Speaking at a news
conference in the hard-hit province of Malatya, Soylu said the toll in Turkey
included 6,660 foreign nationals, mostly Syrians. He also said authorities were
still trying to identify 1,615 victims.
In neighboring Syria,
the quake killed more than 6,000 people.
A U.N. commission
Monday blamed both Syria's government and the international community for not
acting fast enough to help people in need in Syria's rebel-held northwest.
The Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic said there
should be an investigation into why it took a week following the earthquake for
Syria's government and the United Nations to agree on opening more border
crossings for aid to flow to rebel-held areas.
Commission member Paulo
Pinheiro told a news conference in Geneva that there was a "complete
failure by the government and the international community including United
Nations to rapidly direct urgent lifesaving aid for northwest Syria."
"Many days were
lost without any aid to survivors of the earthquake," he said.
Some information in
this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
VOA
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