Aid supplies found in PYD/PKK hideouts in Afrin

By Adham Kako, Bayram Altug

AFRIN, Syria/ANKARA/GENEVA

Turkish soldiers and Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters on Wednesday discovered relief supplies in caves in Afrin used by PYD/PKK terrorists as hideouts.

Items such as food and bags of medical supplies with the logo of the Syrian Red Crescent and International Red Cross were found during searches launched by Turkish troops and the FSA in the area, which had been liberated from the PYD/PKK.

It is well known that the Bashar al-Assad regime has been offering logistical support to PYD/PKK terrorists occupying Afrin since the beginning of the civil war.

Asked by an Anadolu Agency correspondent how the relief supplies had wound up in the caves, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva said the organization had sent aid for 10,000 to 50,000 displaced people from Syria’s Afrin and Tell Rifaat last year.

“The last convoy had dispatched [the aid] two months ago,” said Iolanda Jaquemet.

“The Red Cross is an independent, non-partisan organization. We have never sent humanitarian aid to combatants, and we have been handing it over to Syria’s Red Crescent. They are in charge of its delivery,” she added.

She said that going forward, they will closely monitor aid dispatches to determine whether they have reached people in need.