World leaders express solidarity with Türkiye after deadly quakes

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Messages of support continued to pour in Sunday from world leaders after a devastating series of earthquakes struck Türkiye earlier this week.

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune expressed sympathy for those who died in the massive quakes and wished recovery to the injured, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the president of Guinea Bissau, Senegal's President Macky Sall, and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe also conveyed condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid, and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani are among other leaders who expressed condolences.

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who serves as chairman of the country’s Sovereignty Council, also expressed condolences.

Erdogan had a telephone call Sunday with Masoud Barzani, former leader of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

The temblors caused widespread damage and killed over 29,000 people in Türkiye’s south and southeast, according to the latest figures.

A 7.7-magnitude tremor struck the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province early Monday. Nine hours later, a 7.6-magnitude quake, centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district, rocked the region, affecting several provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

The earthquake was also felt in neighboring countries in the region, including Lebanon and Syria.