ANKARA
The Turkish Red Crescent distributed aid to at least 500 Turkmen families fleeing violence of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq’s northern province Kirkuk on Monday.
The aid packages were distributed at the Turkmen Civilian Society Center and Turkmen Women Association Center in the province.
Aydin Maruf, a member of parliament representing the Iraqi Turkmen Front, and the Turkish Red Crescent Director-General Ahmet Lutfi Akar were present during the aid delivery.
Akar said the Turkish Red Crescent was sending humanitarian aid to Iraq since June when the conflicts escalated because of the terrorist ISIL group.
The director-general said the aid was being delivered to everybody without "discrimination on basis of race, language and religion."
"We delivered food packages to our Turkmen brothers in Kirkuk today. The city of Kirkuk means a lot for us. We consider it our duty to look after all our brothers in Iraq," Akar said.
He also said they considered Arabs, Turkmens, Kurds, Ezidis and Christians as brothers and sisters. "With our help we try to reach anyone that need it," he added.
The Turkish humanitarian agency recently also sent 200 trucks load of aid to Iraq.
The ISIL terrorist organization recently captured large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, and declared what it calls a cross-border Islamic caliphate. The group has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of people in both countries.
Established 146 years ago, the Turkish Red Crescent is one of the oldest humanitarian agencies in the world that helps people from Turkey and globally in crises or natural disasters.
www.aa.com.tr/en
