Istanbul [Turkiye], April 25: Following Wednesday's 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Istanbul and hundreds of smaller aftershocks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned people not to exploit the situation for political purposes.
Such days are not there to "play politics," but to remember "unity and brotherhood," the president stressed on Thursday.
Erdogan said he did not wish to debate at such a sensitive time and saw this as "disrespect for the people."
A series of quakes continued to rattle Istanbul a day after the largest was registered, with Turkiye's AFAD disaster agency reporting some 300 aftershocks, one of them measuring a magnitude of 4.6.
"Our greatest consolation is that we have no dead to mourn," said Erdogan, whose government, according to the opposition, has failed to develop Istanbul and protect it from earthquakes.
At the same time, the broader opposition accuses the largest opposition force, the Republican People's Party (CHP), of using its control of the city to block progress on earthquake safety.
According to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, around 1,400 reports of damage to buildings have been registered since the earthquakes began on Wednesday. According to the report, around 1.5 million buildings are classified as "at risk" in the event of a strong earthquake.
More than 100,000 people have taken refuge in emergency shelters by Thursday.
Source: Qatar Tribune
