Turkey reaches out to over 200,000 Syrians in Ramadan

By Erdal Turkoglu

HATAY, Turkey (AA) - Turkish Red Crescent reached out to over 200,000 people in Syria during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on Thursday, the aid group’s Syria field coordinator Kadir Akgunduz said that the agency provided humanitarian aid -- including clothes, food and cleaning materials -- in Idlib, Azez and Jarabulus regions.

"During Ramadan, iftar (fast-breaking meals) for 255,570 people were distributed across Syria," Akgunduz said.

He went on to say that 14,675 packs of food, 6,200 boxes of milk and 486 packets of biscuits were delivered for children living in camps.

Turkey hosts over three million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. It has spent $25 billion in sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

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

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