SANLIURFA, Turkey

A Turkish aid group on Wednesday sent three truckloads of humanitarian aid to two areas of northern Syria cleared of terrorists last fall by Operation Peace Spring.

The aid -- staples such as flour, sugar, and oil, provided by the Aziz Mahmut Hudayi Foundation -- were distributed in the areas of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, under the coordination of an aid platform based in the Turkish province of Sanliurfa just across the border.

Osman Gerem, head of the Sanliurfa Humanitarian Aid Platform, told Anadolu Agency that the coronavirus outbreak has hampered their aid work but that the group found ways to reach people in need with the help of some large NGOs.

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.

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring last October to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot. 

*Writing by Seda Sevencan