Turkish, Malaysian charities send aid to Syria

By Cebrail Caymaz

KILIS, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish and Malaysian charity on Wednesday sent 30 truckloads of aid to areas of northern Syria which were liberated from terrorists in a military operation by Turkey.

They departed from Turkey carrying food, blankets, coal and stoves after a brief ceremony in the border province of Kilis.

The aid was collected by the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islam Organization.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ihsan Acik, the deputy chairman of Diyanet's board of trustees, said they carry out various humanitarian activities in Syria.

"Thanks to Allah, we opened a school as of today. We are also building a large residential area," he said.

"Our goal is to do our best to help our Syrian brothers and sisters see the end of this conflict as soon as possible," he added.

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

Since then, over 5 million civilians have become homeless.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Ankara