Turkish Red Crescent provides Eid meat to over 1,300 needy families in war-torn Yemen

By Shukri Hussein and Zeynep Tüfekçi Gülay

ADEN (AA) – The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) distributed meat to 1,350 needy families in worn-torn Yemen on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The head of the Turkish Red Crescent’s branch in Yemen, Ibrahim Obaid, told Anadolu that the meat distribution took place in Aden and Lahij provinces.

Obaid said the distribution will continue until the third day of Eid and cover 3,000 families in the provinces of Aden, Abyan, Lahij and Dhale, including people with special needs, orphans and displaced people.

The Muslim holiday commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son at God's command, before the last-minute divine substitute of a ram. During the holiday, sacrificed meat is distributed to the needy.

Since the outbreak of fighting in Yemen, the Turkish Red Crescent has been providing humanitarian aid to the displaced and those affected by the war, as well as helping the poorest families.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The situation escalated when a Saudi-led military coalition entered the war in 2015 to reverse Houthi military gains and reinstate the Yemeni government.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan