Hulusi Akar: 'We were ready to dispatch troops from the first moment on'

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Defense Minister of Türkiye Hulusi Akar responded to the claims that they were late to dispatch troops following the earthquake and said that they were ready to dispatch the troops from the first moment on.

The minister said such claims were biased and made with malicious intent. He argued that the Ministry of Defense and the Turkish Armed Forces mobilized with its soldiers, civilians, workers, and technical personnel from the first moment on and come to the rescue of the people.

Akar held a video conference with the commanders-in-chief of the Turkish Armed Forces, the deputy minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu and the commanders serving in the earthquake-hit region today (February 20).

The Defence Minister received the latest information on the work carried out in the region and in his statement made to the press he responded to the claims and accusations that the military troops were late to intervene after the earthquake.

Akar said, "The first earthquake centered in the Pazarcık district of Maraş happened at 14:17 am. Besides the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, the operations centers of the land, air, and naval forces did what needed to be done quickly and requested reports from the troops at 04:30. At the same moment the Humanitarian Aid Brigade Command were called to attention. The commander of the second army, General Metin Gürak was on duty at 04:50 and started to receive reports from troops. At 05:00 the Disaster Emergency Crisis Center was established within our Ministry. The crisis centers at the General Staff and the Military Departments started to operate simultaneously."

They had a telephone conversation with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at 05:10 informed Akar and that the air, land, and naval troops were made ready to dispatch in coordination with one another, minister informed.

Akar also said that the 8th commando brigade in Hatay started the rescue works at 10:00 in the morning in the province which was hit by the earthquake. (Mİ/PE)