The Austrian army has suspended rescue operations in quake-hit Turkey due to “an increasingly difficult security situation”, its spokesperson said in a tweet on Saturday.

Ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer tweeted that the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) was available for further rescue operations when the working environment became safe.

News agency AFP reported clashes between unidentified groups, and that Austrian troops were sheltering in a base camp with other international organizations and were awaiting instructions.

Some 80 rescue workers from Austria’s armed forces have been in Antakya, Turkey, since Feb. 7 and their specialists have freed nine people from the rubble.