Turkey continues to provide medical aid in NW Syria

By Izzet Mazi

KILIS, Turkey

Turkey continues to provide medical aid in northwestern Syria, as the former has established three hospitals and 12 medical centers in the region.

Dr. Mehmet Metin Demir, medical director in Turkey's southern Kilis province, told Anadolu Agency that Turkey has made a variety of medical investments in northwestern Syria.

Demir said Turkey has established three hospitals and 12 medical centers in the region and that Syrians are working in these medical institutions.

He said Turkey has also provided training to 170 physicians and 530 medical personnel that helped provide daily medical services to 2,500 people in the region.

He said after the medical institutions were established, the number of patients coming from Syria to Turkey has fallen considerably.

Demir said although number of patients coming to Turkey for medical treatment has fallen, but still an average of two patients per day are being brought to Turkey.

"In three months, we want to decrease this number to zero cases," he said, implying that they aim to treat all patients in Syria.

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

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