Turkish first lady thanks African countries for support after earthquakes

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan on Thursday thanked first ladies of African countries for their support after the Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye, which have claimed the lives of more than 43,000 people.

"The First Lady of Nigeria and the President of AFLPM (African First Ladies Peace Mission) Aisha Muhammadu Buhari’s support for our disaster-stricken citizens is a priceless manifestation of our sisterhood.

"I’d like to thank all the first ladies of African countries, particularly my friend Aisha, for their support," Erdogan said on Twitter.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.