7,259 Syrians killed in earthquakes: NGO

By Muhammed Yusuf

ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 7,259 Syrians were killed in the Feb. 6 deadly earthquakes that rattled northern Syria and southern Türkiye, according to a Syrian rights group on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said 2,534 people were killed in regime-held areas in Syria and 394 others in areas outside the regime’s control.

The group said 4,331 Syrian refugees were also killed in the earthquakes in Türkiye.

According to the rights group, 2,153 children and 1,524 women were among the victims.

“Seventy-three medics, five media personnel, 62 workers in humanitarian organizations, and four civil defense personnel were also killed in northwestern Syria,” it added.

The NGO said the death toll is still expected to rise.

“There is an urgent need to increase humanitarian aid for the families of the victims and the displaced in various regions, especially in northwestern Syria, which suffers from overpopulation due to the flow of hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced people as a result of the Syrian regime's violations," it added.

The devastating earthquakes have claimed at least 44,374 lives in Türkiye’s southern region.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, have impacted some 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara