Turkey is ready to help Aleppo victims: Red Crescent

By Ibrahim Erikan

HATAY, Turkey

Top state agencies and civil aid groups have completed preparations to evacuate civilians from the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo to Turkey’s border province of Hatay, Turkish Red Crescent official said Thursday.

Under the coordination of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), the Red Crescent and Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) have drawn up a plan, Red Crescent head Kerem Kinik told reporters.

“In this plan of operations, firstly, the wounded will be transferred to Turkey, and the Health Ministry is working on this,” he added.

According to the ministry, at least 90 wounded are already waiting, and Turkey will urgently set up mobile hospitals to treat them.

Many ambulances are also on alert for possible serious injuries at Turkey’s Cilvegozu Border Gate located in Hatay’s Reyhanli district.

Meanwhile, 25 United Nations trucks carrying food, medicine, and other aid supplies have crossed the Cilvegozu Border Gate into Syria.

Separately, on Wednesday, many people in some European countries, including France and Denmark, protested the violence of the Syrian regime and its allies in Aleppo.

Violence escalated in the city Monday when Syrian regime forces advanced into opposition-held parts of eastern Aleppo following a five-month siege and persistent aerial bombardment.

The Russian-backed regime had been trying to reestablish control over parts of Aleppo captured four years ago by armed opposition groups.

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

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