Turkish Red Crescent boosting aid to Jarabulus, Mosul

By Ayse Yildiz

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - The Turkish Red Crescent is boosting its humanitarian aid to Jarabulus, Syria and northern Iraq, and so far has sent about 450 trucks of materials to Mosul, areas wracked by ongoing or recent conflict, the group’s head Kerem Kinik told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

The Turkish Red Crescent is extending a helping hand not only to refugees living in Turkey, but also to potential refugees in crisis-hit regions, Kinik said.

Stating that Syria and Iraq are two key regions of migration, Kinik said that they are also working to stem new waves of refugees.

"We boosted humanitarian aid to Jarabulus after Operation Euphrates Shield started [on Aug. 24] and in northern Iraq after the Mosul operation started. We have multidimensional humanitarian aid such as establishing new refugee camps in these areas [Mosul], creating a peaceful environment in Jarabulus, and providing support for the people of Jarabulus to enable resettlement there," Kinik added.

Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to rid Syria's northern border area of terrorists, particularly Daesh.

Kinik also touted the new Kizilay Card – using the Red Crescent’s Turkish name – which has so far provided nearly 300,000 Syrians with 450 million Turkish liras through debit cards.

Kinik said the Turkish Red Crescent has sent nearly 450 trucks of humanitarian aid to Mosul and added:

"With AFAD [Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority], we have two camps with a 20,000-person capacity. We are increasing their capacity. We have been trying to provide almost 6.5 million displaced people inside Syria with 20 trucks of humanitarian aid daily, but the crisis is big and this aid isn’t enough."

Kinik said the aid sometimes stops when aid convoys are targeted, cease-fires are violated, and Syria grows more unsafe.

Calling on people in Turkey and abroad to help, Kinik said they can donate 10 Turkish lira to the "Mosul is your home" campaign by sending an SMS to 2868.