Turkish group provides ambulances to Syria from Qatar

IDLIB

Qatari donors gave 16 ambulances to Syria with the assistance of the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), the group said Tuesday.

Ten of 16 ambulances will serve in Afrin and Euphrates Shield Operation zone. The remaining six will be go to hospitals in need, said Mehmet Suayip Altun, IHH’s representative for Syria.

The ambulances were sent from Qatar's capital, Doha, to Turkey by sea, then entered Syria from the southern Cilvegozu border gate.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests, leading to open warfare in several parts of the country with heavily-armed opposition groups.

While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, regime officials say the number is closer to 10,000.

Writing by Beyza Binnur Donmez