UPDATE - Turkish charity train reaches Afghanistan in time of need

UPDATES WITH TRAIN'S ARRIVAL IN AFGHANISTAN; NEW HEADLINE, DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) - A special charity train carrying 750 tons of emergency goods from Turkiye to Afghanistan reached its destination on Monday.

The train was received in a ceremony by Turkiye's Ambassador Cihad Erginay and acting Afghan government officials in the northwestern Herat province, according to the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.

The aid will be distributed in all 34 provinces of the country, the state agency tweeted.

The train left the Turkish capital Ankara late last month.

At least 11 humanitarian groups from Turkiye, under the umbrella of the state-run Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), are supplying humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, which is facing a food crunch and is in need of emergency aid.

- Over 4,000-km journey

The train traversed 4,168 kilometers (3,590 miles) via Iran and Turkmenistan to reach Afghanistan.

Around 12.9 million children in Afghanistan are in need of aid due to extreme weather conditions, according to Turkiye’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

Turkish Red Crescent head Kerem Kinik also visited Afghanistan last week and held high-level meetings to discuss the distribution of humanitarian aid among Afghans.

Aid groups describe Afghanistan’s plight as one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises.

According to the UN, half the population now faces acute hunger, over 9 million people have been displaced, and millions of children are out of school.

Previously, the UN and its partners launched a $4.4 billion funding appeal to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan in 2022.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also warned that millions of Afghans are on the verge of death, urging the international community to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and jump-start its banking system.