Turkish Red Crescent distributes food aid in Yemen

ADEN, Yemen

The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) distributed around 600 food parcels to people in Yemen's eastern Maarib province.

Mustafa Aydin, head of Kizilay delegation, told Anadolu Agency Saturday that the agency in cooperation with another charity association provided the aid to refugees and students at the province's school.

Aydin said that 298 parcels were distributed to refugees who fled from Yemen's northwestern Hajjah and central Al-Baydaa province, as well as 300 food parcels were given to students who learn the Quran by heart.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014 when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

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

Turkey is among the biggest donors sending humanitarian aid to the crisis-stricken country.

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

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev