Turkey sends 7 truckloads of aid to northwestern Syria

By Erdal Turkoglu

HATAY, Turkey (AA) - Turkish aid agencies have sent seven truckloads of humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, where millions of people remain in need of assistance due to internal conflicts in the country.

The aid, including flour, water, and dry food collected from various provinces, was brought to the border of the Yayladagi district of Hatay for dispatch to Syria.

The aid will be distributed among families living in tents in rural areas of Idlib, a long-embattled region.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.

The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.