Turkish group provides 400,000 needy Syrians with meat

IDLIB, Syria

A Turkish charity donated meat to hundreds of thousands of needy people in northern Syrian during a recently concluded Muslim holiday.

Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) extended a helping hand to families living in the border areas of Idlib, Afrin, al-Bab, Jarabulus, and Al-Azaz during the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday, which ended Monday.

Zeki Tahiroglu, the group’s coordinator in Turkey’s Hatay province, bordering Syria, told Anadolu Agency that Syrians welcomed the holiday despite the decade-long civil war.

“Syrians have been struggling with civil war for over 10 years. The civilians living under the shadow of war are all worn out,” he said, adding that the holiday served as a source of relief.

Tahiroglu went on to say that 400,000 civilians were provided with meat and the group continues its work to aid Syrians during desperate times.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, injured and forced from their homes.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas