Turkish charities send aid to northern Syria

By Erdal Turkoglu and Rauf Maltas

HATAY/SANLIURFA, Turkey (AA) - Seven truckloads of humanitarian aid by Turkey’s Diyanet Foundation were sent to northern Syria on Monday.

The provincial mufti’s Office and Turkey’s Diyanet Foundation branch in Sanliurfa launched “Share Your Bread, Get Closer to Your Brother” campaign for Syrian families.

The aid, which will be distributed among families in the Operation Peace Spring area, contains flour.

Sanliurfa's Mufti Mehmet Tastan said: "Our people and officials didn’t forget Syrian victims and oppressed brothers and sisters even during the pandemic. Our brothers mobilized before the winter for Syrians to have food on their tables."

He also thanked people who supported the campaign.

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9 to eliminate terrorist YPG/PKK elements east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

Separately, other Turkish charities sent six truckloads of humanitarian aid to Syria’s Idlib.

The aid, including flour, clothes, and dry food, collected from various provinces was brought to the Yayladagi district of southern Hatay province for dispatch to Syria.

The aid was distributed among families living in tents in rural areas of Idlib, a long-embattled region.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.