Croatian Caritas organizes aid for Morocco earthquake

Morocco continues to sift through the rubble after a devastating earthquake - a 6.8 on the Richter scale - rocked the country on Friday night. 

According to the latest data, more than two-thousand people were killed, hundreds were injured, and a large number of buildings were destroyed in the devastating earthquake in the High Atlas region, about seventy kilometers southwest of Marrakesh.

The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that no Croatian citizens were killed in the disaster.

The Croatian branch of the international Catholic relief organization - Caritas - said on Sunday that it was starting a fundraising campaign to help earthquake-stricken Morocco.

"It is extremely important to show solidarity and closeness to those who are suffering, because we ourselves felt the devastating power of the earthquake and we received a lot of help from the Caritas network in Europe and the world," said the Croatian Caritas, which will forward all collected funds to Caritas in Morocco.

"Every donation will be welcome in helping and eliminating the consequences of the earthquake for the already very vulnerable residents," they announced. "The aid will first be used to provide food, water, hygiene supplies, temporary shelter and psychosocial assistance, and later to rebuild homes and normalize the lives of the most vulnerable families. The aid we collect will be an expression of solidarity, compassion and support for the victims in Morocco", said Caritas.