Turkish Red Crescent continues to provide aid to war-torn families in Syria’s Idlib

By Burak Karacaoglu and Ahmet Karaahmet

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - As the Turkish Red Crescent continues to provide daily bread and food aid to thousands of war-torn families in Syria's Idlib province, the aid group also meets the clothing needs of 1.5 million people.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the occasion of International Migrants Day, Kadir Kemaloglu, head of the Turkish Red Crescent's Idlib team, said: "As the Red Crescent, we meet the daily bread needs of 33,000 families in Idlib. We provide food and hygiene assistance to an average of 17,000 families per month. At the same time, we provide health services in our three camps and briquette houses."

Kemaloglu noted that the aid agency also meets the medicine needs of hospitals and health units in Idlib.

"We meet the water needs of approximately 17 orphanages and 11 camps," he added.

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

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 Syrian regime and its allies.

Over 350,000 people have been killed in 10 years of war in Syria, according to the UN, which it says is "certainly an under-count."

According to the UN Refugee Agency, some 6.6 million Syrians have been forced to leave the country over the past decade.

Turkey alone hosts approximately 3.7 million of these people – more than any other country in the world.

* Writing by Merve Aydogan in Ankara