HATAY, Turkey
The Muslim month of Ramadan has seen the Turkish Red Crescent send more than 260 trucks loaded with aid into Syria, the agency said on Thursday.
Savas Avci, head of Red Crescent team in the southern province of Hatay, said 264 trucks crossed into Syria during the holy month, heading for Aleppo, Idlib and Latakia, some of the most dangerous areas of the war-torn country.
The aid, which was gathered from donors across Turkey, will go to Syrians whose access to food, water, electricity and health services has been severely limited by the fighting.
“Syrian people living in the area just across the border with Turkey are not only fighting against bombardments but also accommodation problems, famine and illnesses,” Avci told Anadolu Agency.
He said Syrians living near the border were surviving on humanitarian aid sent from Turkey. "They need all kind of aid, which becomes more crucial in Ramadan," he added.
Trucks dispatched from Reyhanli and Yayladagi are loaded with tents, beds, blankets, clothes, shoes, flour, food, medical supplies, toiletries, water and stationery. During Ramadan the convoys have reached hundreds of thousands of desperate Syrians.
Established in 1868, the Turkish Red Crescent is one of the world’s oldest humanitarian groups.
