TURKEY: 17 Trucks That Were Carrying Much Needed Aid (Food And Supplies) For Earthquake Victims Were Looted To Be Sold On The Blackmarket!

News.com Australia

17 aid trucks looted in quake-hit Turkey

written by Staff

Thursday October 27, 2011

SEVENTEEN aid trucks belonging to the Turkish Red Crescent have been looted in quake-hit eastern Turkey.

"Looters and raiders who appear during every quake incident have been found here too," the organisation's head Ahmet Lutfi Aker said overnight.

"Our 17 trucks were looted on Tuesday and Monday (local time)" in Van city centre and the town of Ercis, he said.

Local police sources in Van province also said looting incidents had taken place.

People in Ercis, which bore the full brunt of the quake, said unidentified individuals had stopped a truck carrying tents.

They seized the tents and assaulted the truck driver, they said, adding that the equipment would likely be sold on the blackmarket.

Meanwhile, dozens of survivors, furious at not receiving aid supplies after the devastating earthquake, raided trucks carrying food and blankets in the city of Van, local officials said.

Anger is rising among those made homeless by Monday's 7.2-magnitude quake at the slowness of the relief effort.

Three days after the quake, many are still without proper shelter or food supplies, particularly in remote villages.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reversed an initial refusal of help and asked for outside assistance, admitting that important "failures" in the first 24 hours after the quake hit had prevented vital aid from getting through.