No fewer than 113 arrest warrants have been issued in Turkey in connection with the construction of buildings that collapsed in last week Monday’s earthquake.

Turkish police have already taken at least 12 people into custody, including building contractors, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, unrest in southern Turkey has disrupted rescue efforts in some places.

The number of people confirmed to have died in Turkey and Syria has risen to more than 33,000.

According to CNN on Monday, the arrests of building contractions were seen by many as an attempt by the Turkish government to divert complete blame for the disaster.

It was expected that the collapsed buildings were meant to withstand earthquakes when the natural disaster struck.

For years, experts warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies.

Those policies allowed so-called amnesties for contractors who swerved building regulations, in order to encourage a construction boom – including in earthquake-prone regions.

Thousands of buildings collapsed during the earthquake, raising questions about whether the natural disaster’s impact was made worse by human failings.

On Saturday, German rescuers and the Austrian army paused search operations because of clashes between unnamed groups in Hatay province. Security is expected to worsen as food supplies dwindle, one rescuer said.

“There is increasing aggression between factions in Turkey,” Austrian Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis said. “The chances of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the safety risk.”

The search for survivors resumed under the protection of the Turkish army.

Across southern Turkey and northern Syria, millions are homeless and temperatures continue to drop below freezing on a nightly basis.