Turkish Red Crescent continues aid to Syria in 2017

HATAY, Turkey

The Turkish Red Crescent sent nearly 7,000 truck-loads of humanitarian aid to Syria in the year of 2017 alone, a Turkish Red Crescent official told Anadolu Agency.

Hakan Sari, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent’s Border Assistance, said Turkey's largest humanitarian organization had maintained its aid support to all those in need within Turkey and Syria since 2011.

"As the Turkish Red Crescent, our efforts in meeting peoples' needs continue to the best of our capacity. This year we have tried to reach out not only to the people in areas where Operation Euphrates Shield took place but also those in Idlib. We have sent Syria nearly 7,000 truck-loads of aid that we collected inside and outside Turkey,” Sari explained, adding that the aid included not only food and sanitary supplies but also formula for children, medicine, medical and stationery supplies as well as variety of humanitarian aid materials.

“During Eid al-Adha [the feast of sacrifice], we distributed meat to thousands of families, with three kilos given to each family. We carried out special projects for Ramadan. We distributed fast-breaking menus to 10,700 houses per day [throughout the month of fasting]," Sari added.

He also mentioned the Turkish Red Crescent's continued support to 12 orphanages and five camps in Idlib region, emphasizing the harsh conditions Idlib would find itself in once winter set in. “Nearly 700,000 people are living in 400 camps in Idlib,” he said.

"Here at Red Crescent we were prepared for the winter months. The people are unable to meet their heating needs. We have recently finished distributing 5,000 heating stoves to the needy. We have also distributed beds, blankets, and coats, giving priority to the tent cities and orphanages."

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting and more than 10 million displaced, according to the UN.