SANLIURFA / CORUM, Turkey

Three truckloads of humanitarian aid from charity groups in Turkey were sent Wednesday to vulnerable people in Idlib, northwestern Syria, where millions are in need of assistance due to internal conflict in the country.

Several relief groups and benefactors in Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa province put together two truckloads of aid, which included water, flour and dry food, in cooperation with the Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) Association.

Osman Gerem, head of the Sanliurfa Humanitarian Aid Platform, said that the platform has sent a total of 44 trucks to Idlib, including today’s shipments.

Another truck was sent from the northern Corum province to Idlib by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) to meet the needs of local women and children and women in rural areas.

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.

It is currently home to 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-weary country.