Bashar Assad warns Syria can’t cope with ‘scale of earthquake disaster’

Dictator thanks ‘Arab brothers and friends’ for aid

Dictator Bashar al-Assad has warned Syria cannot cope with the aftermath of last week’s devastating earthquake centred on southern Turkey as he thanked other nations for their support.

“The scale of the disaster and the duties we must undertake are much greater than available resources,” the president said in his first televised address since the disaster struck.

His government says the death toll in territory it controls is 1,414 but more than 4,000 fatalities have been reported in the rebel-held northwest. Almost 40,000 have been confirmed killed in Turkey so far.