Turkish charity helped 150,000 Syrian civilians

By Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - A Turkish charity has provided assistance to 150,000 civilians in Afrin, northwestern Syria since last March, an official said Monday.

Zeki Tahiroglu, Syria coordinator of the Istanbul-based IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, said the agency has been providing civilians food, hygiene packs, clothing and medical equipment as well as fuel allowance for winter.

Afrin was liberated from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists in March of last year during Turkey's Operation Olive Branch.

"So we supplied [since then] hot meals to a million people; we gave 5 million loaves of bread; clothing for 25,000 people; food and household items for 150,000 people," Tahiroglu said.

The charity has also provided medical and educational services to civilians in Afrin and set up employment projects.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war 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 have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.