Turkish organizations launch aid campaigns for Aleppo

ANKARA

Turkey's aid campaign for the besieged people of Aleppo continued on Friday with several nongovernmental organizations sending food, water and clothing.

Turkish nongovernmental organizations and Marmara University recently launched large humanitarian aid campaigns for people of Aleppo.

In Turkey's southeastern Hatay province, the Hayrat Yardim Association sent 70-tons of water to nearby villages of Syria's Aleppo and areas deemed safe in Idlib province.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, the association's Chairman, Hakki Aygun, said: "We are standing by our brothers in Aleppo. We are trying to organize aid efforts from every city of Turkey."

In southeastern Turkey’s Kilis province, the Deniz Feneri Association gathered a 9-container long humanitarian aid convoy and sent it to Syria.

The association's disaster coordination official, Dogan Selcuk, told Anadolu Agency the aid packages included 125 tons of flour, 22 tons of coal and health equipment.

The Memur-Sen Union also launched a campaign for Aleppo called "81-container aid convoys from 81 cities of Turkey for Aleppo".

Chairman of the union, Ali Yalcin, told Anadolu Agency: "Unfortunately, Aleppo has become the center of a human tragedy. They are facing a great amount of starvation."

In southern Mersin city, 12-container long humanitarian aid convoy was prepared and is currently underway to Aleppo.

Mufti Ali Melek from the city told Anadolu Agency the aim is not to send "some pack ages of flour, bread or basic needs, but to send a message to the world.

"We are trying to say that humanity is not dead and we are there for our brothers."

Meanwhile, in several cities of Turkey, many "funeral prayers in absentia" have been held to mourn for civilians that lost their lives in Aleppo.

Since mid-November, more than 775 civilians have been killed and 2,500 injured in regime attacks on opposition-held parts of Aleppo, according to local civil defense officials.

Fierce bombardments have forced most of the city’s hospitals to halt operations while most academic activities have been suspended.

The recent escalation comes amid attempts by the Russia-backed Assad regime to wrest control of eastern parts of Aleppo that were captured by armed opposition groups four years ago.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.