Turkey’s presidential aide seeks help for Yemen

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA

Turkey’s presidential spokesman sought support Friday for an aid campaign launched for Yemen.

Ibrahim Kalin posted a graphic on his Twitter account on the campaign, which was launched by Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) and the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV) with the headline "Do not remain silent over the screams of Yemen, which is facing the world's biggest hunger crisis".

"Let's support this campaign to help our Yemeni brothers," Kalin said while using the hashtag #DonotremainsilentaboutYemen.

He said people in Anatolia will once again show the world that they stand with oppressed people.

The Diyanet, in coordination with the TDV, will collect aid money for Yemeni Muslims, who are struggling against starvation, disease and civil war.

The collection of donations will begin after Friday prayers in 90,000 mosques across Turkey.

Those wishing to participate in the charity campaign can also send a text message with the word YEMEN to 5601 to donate 10 Turkish liras ($1.87).

Yemen has been wracked by violence since when the Houthi rebels overran much of the country and the crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

Saudi Arabi and Sunni allies accuse the Houthis of acting as a proxy force for Shia Iran.

Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed and the UN estimates that around 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine.