GAZIANTEP
The Turkish Red Crescent Society on Thursday sent nearly 625 tons of flour to civil war-stricken Syrians who face severe shortage of bread and shelter from cold weather.
"The Turkish state, the government and the people do their best to extend a helping hand to anywhere aid is needed," Mehdi Eker, Turkey's food, agriculture and animal breeding minister, told a ceremony in the southeastern province of Gaziantep to see off more than two dozens of trucks carrying the flour as part of the "Bread&Blanket for Syria" campaign, an international aid drive for internally-displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees staying in camps in neighboring countries.
"Right across our border with Syria, a humanitarian tragedy, oppression and brutality unfold, affecting millions of people. Millions have become refugees and more than 60,000 people have been killed," Eker said.
Turkey hosts more than 150,000 Syrian refugees in camps in the country's southern provinces.
Thursday's shipment marks the first of a series to follow to send a total of 38 thousand tons of flour to Syria.
