UPDATE - Outrage over French magazine Charlie Hebdo mocking Türkiye after 2 deadly earthquakes

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE

By Alaattin Dogru and Umit Donmez

ANKARA / PARIS (AA) – French magazine Charlie Hebdo has sparked outrage with a new cartoon mocking Türkiye after the country was hit on Monday by two deadly earthquakes.

The cartoon, posted on Twitter under the heading "cartoon of the day," shows buildings near collapse and lying in rubble, a flipped-over car, and piles of debris in the quakes’ aftermath.

"Earthquake in Türkiye," is written above the cartoon, and the words “No need to even send tanks” at the bottom.

Internet users voiced frustration and anger over Charlie Hebdo, billed as a satirical weekly, publishing the cartoon even as frantic search and rescue efforts continue to rescue survivors of the deadly disaster.

Referring to a 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo which killed 12 people, Alexandre Boisson, a former member of the SDLP bodyguard service to two French presidents from 2002 to 2011, said on Twitter: "My colleague Franck Brinsoloro (RIP) died to protect you. If your pen becomes murderous and leads to sacrificing other colleagues from the SDLP, you have to appear in court for incitement to hatred."

Yigit Ongen, a French-Turkish user on Twitter, said he was in Paris when Charlie Hebdo was attacked in 2015 and took part in marches to support them.

"However, it has upset me to see you have no spirituality. Thousands of people are living and (trapped) under debris," he added.

The Bosphorus Institute, a Paris-based independent think tank working to strengthen friendship between France and Türkiye, slammed the cartoon as "shameful, pathetic, and pitiful."

"This cartoon is nothing but shameful," Francois Burgat, a political scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, told Anadolu.

Charlie Hebdo is also notorious for its cartoons insulting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

Over 3,500 people were killed and 22,000 others injured in 10 provinces of Türkiye after two strong earthquakes jolted southern Türkiye, according to the latest figures, released as search and rescue efforts continue. Some 8,000 people have so far been rescued.

Early Monday, a 7.7 magnitude tremor struck the Kahramanmaras province, then about nine hours later, a 7.6 magnitude quake also centered in Kahramanmaras rocked the region, affecting several other provinces.

The earthquakes were also felt in several neighboring countries in the region, including Lebanon and Syria.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara