Two German rescue organizations called off work, citing reports of clashes and gunfire between groups of people.
An Austrian team also suspended work for the time being.
‘Robbers with Knives’
Gizem, a rescue worker from the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, said she had seen robbers in Antioch. “We cannot intervene much as most of the robbers carry knives,” he said.
Police and soldiers were out on Saturday to maintain order, also helping with traffic, rescue and food distribution.
Turkey said about 80,000 people were in hospital, with more than one million in temporary shelters.
Outside Antakya, workers at a mass grave lowered bodybags into a freshly dug ditch where a mechanical digger covered them with soil. About 80 sacks were waiting to be buried.
New graves also covered a hill outside Gaziantep, some marked with flowers or small Turkish flags fluttering in the wind. Next to one of the graves, a woman broke down in tears as a boy tried to comfort her.
The survivors feared disease, the infrastructure was destroyed.
Rescue worker Gizem said, “If people don’t die here under the debris, they will die from injuries, otherwise they will die from infection. There are no toilets here. It’s a big problem.”
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake as the worst to hit the region in 100 years. He praised Turkey’s response, saying it was his experience that people in disaster areas were always disappointed in relief efforts.
He predicted that the death toll would at least double.
The disaster struck during Erdogan’s preparations for national elections due in June. His popularity was already declining amid the rising cost of living and the devaluation of the Turkish currency.
Even before the earthquake, the vote was seen as Erdogan’s toughest challenge in his two decades in power. He called for solidarity and condemned “negative” politics in the aftermath of the disaster.
People in the quake zone and opposition politicians have accused the government of slow and inadequate relief, and critics have said the military, which played a key role after the 1999 earthquake, was not involved fast enough.
Erdogan acknowledged some problems, particularly getting aid to the region where transport links were damaged, but said the situation was later brought under control.
Questions are also being raised on the strength of the buildings. State-owned Anadolu news agency reported that state prosecutors in Adana ordered the detention of 62 people in an investigation into the collapsed buildings, while prosecutors in Diyarbakır sought the arrest of 33 people.