On Saturday, a few search and rescue operations were put on hold due to security concerns as the death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that slammed Turkey and Syria exceeded 28,000.
The volunteer group Syria Civil Defense, better known as the White Helmets, declared on Friday that the rescue operations in the rebel-controlled regions of north and northwest Syria were completed.
Following the Turkish army’s intervention to provide protection, Austria resumed its rescue effort, according to the nation’s Ministry of Defense.
Both the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (TSW) in Germany and the German section of the search and rescue organization Isar halted operations due to security issues.
“There are more and more reports of fights between various factions, and shots have even been fired,” Isar spokesperson Stefan Heine stated.
Isar’s operations manager, Steven Bayer, predicted that as food and water supplies become more scarce, security would deteriorate.
He added: “We are watching the security situation very closely as it develops.”
The team claimed that after 108 hours of searching, it is unlikely that anyone still alive remains trapped beneath the rubble.
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in civil war, and prior to Monday’s tragedy, 4 million people in the worst-affected regions of the rebel-controlled country were dependent on humanitarian aid.
According to preliminary statistics from the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which has been working to provide supplies to vulnerable populations, as many as 5.3 million people in Syria may have been affected by the earthquake and need assistance with shelter.
