Turkey distributes over 2,000 aid packages in northern Syria

By Esref Musa and Ethem Emre Ozcan

TAL ABYAD, Syria (AA) - Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has distributed more than 2,000 aid packages containing food and hygiene kits to people in quarantine due to the coronavirus in northern Syria, Turkish authorities said on Friday.

The aid campaign for people who are in quarantine in Syria’s Tal Abyad district after contracting the virus was launched on Aug. 25 by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) and Sanliurfa Provincial Directorate of Health.

The area was cleared of YPG/PKK terrorists by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army as part of the Operation Peace Spring.

A total of 2,110 aid packages were distributed to families in the district center, Suluk, Hamam al-Turkmen, Kurumaze, Ali Bajali and Sukkariyeh towns.

Besides cleaning materials, the aid packages also contained basic food products such as flour, sugar, rice, oil, lentils, rice, beans and salt.

In the Operation Peace Spring zone, 125 more people tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours, according to the data of the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) that operates under the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

The number of cases in the region has increased to 6,367, while 1,260 of them have recovered. The death toll in the region stands at 41.

COVID-19 vaccines have not been rolled out in the region yet.