SW News: Pope Francis prayed for the souls of victims of the powerful quake in Afghanistan and conveyed his closeness to everyone impacted by the disaster that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. He expressed sympathy during the Wednesday General Audience on June 22, saying, “I especially pray for those who lost their lives and their families.

The Holy Father said that he was hoping for everyone’s help to alleviate the suffering of the people of Afghanistan, which has been under the rule of the Taliban since August last year. The most devastating and deadliest earthquake since 2015 struck a remote area of Paktika province killing at least 1,000 people and injuring more than 1,500. The tremor measured 6.1 on the Richter scale.

The National Center for Seismology reported yet another earthquake of 4.3 magnitudes on Thursday, June 23. The rescue operations are likely to be complicated since many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country.

Catholic Relief Services, the US bishops’ international relief and development agency, still has a presence in the country. However, it was reported that the officials at CRS could not be reached immediately.

A deputy spokesman for the country’s Taliban government, Bilal Karimi, gave no specific death toll but tweeted that hundreds of people were killed and injured in the earthquake. He said, “We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe,” as reported by the Vatican news.

Afghanistan and the region along the Hindu Kush mountains have long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.