Vital medical supplies arrived at hospitals on Saturday in the remote area of Afghanistan hit by an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people this week, while the government of Taliban of the country called for more international help.
Authorities called off the search for survivors in the mountainous southeastern region near the border with Pakistan after Wednesday’s 6.1-magnitude earthquake, which also injured around 2,000 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 homes.
Aftershocks on Friday killed at least five more people in the area about 160 kilometers southeast of the capital, Kabul and medical staff said rudimentary health facilities were hampering their efforts to help the wounded.
“Those wounded who were in bad shape and needed operations, [o que] we can’t do it here, they were sent to Kabul,” said Abrar, who goes by a name, the manager of a hospital in Paktika, the worst affected province.
The disaster is a major test for Afghanistan’s radical Taliban rulers, who have been shunned by many foreign governments since taking control of the country last year over human rights concerns.
Afghanistan has been cut off from much of its direct international assistance because of Western sanctions, deepening a humanitarian crisis in parts of the country even before this week’s earthquake.
The United Nations (UN ) and several other countries sent aid to affected areas, with more arrivals in the coming days, and the Taliban on Saturday called for more aid shipments to help earthquake victims.
“We urge all humanitarian organizations to help people,” said Mohammad Amen Hozifa, spokesman for the Paktika provincial government.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the country will provide humanitarian aid worth 50 million yuan ($7.5 million) to Afghanistan, including tents, towels, beds and other supplies to help people affected by the outbreak. earthquake .
Source: CNN Brasil
