Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) is building 48 new housing units in the Bardaklı village of northwestern Syria’s Idlib.
The houses, built under the “New Life Residences” project, will be handed over to the families of war victims.
The İHH project aims to provide better and healthier living conditions for the locals, İHH Syrian Studies Media Director Selim Tosun said.
He added that they've already completed seven buildings while the construction of four buildings is ongoing. “We handed over the keys to 84 residences in seven completed buildings to war victim families. We saved these families, mostly composed of orphans, from life in tents after they lost their houses in the civil war. We will also hand over another 48 new residences once they are complete.”
Within the project, a total of 1,536 residences and social facilities will meet the needs of war-weary civilians in the region.
Amid ongoing efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Turkey has intensified diplomatic contacts with international actors like the U.S., Russia and Iran. In addition to these diplomatic efforts, Turkey also conducts humanitarian projects to provide shelter for the victims of the civil war.
In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on U.N. member countries to back Turkey's efforts to ensure security in Idlib and avoid another wave of mass migration and massacres.
He added that the efficient functioning of the Syrian constitutional committee is critical for the political and territorial unity of Syria.
Hosting nearly 5 million refugees, Ankara often warns the international community and regional countries that a new offensive in northern Syria could trigger another refugee wave toward the West.
According to Interior Ministry figures, the number of refugees in Turkey was 4.2 million in 2017 and has now reached 4.9 million. While 3.6 million Syrians live in Turkey, more than 415,000 Syrians have been born in Turkey since the start of the civil war in 2011.
Ankara has spent nearly $40 billion so far on refugees while receiving only 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in support from the international community. Turkey has long criticized European countries and the international community for their lack of support on the refugee issue.
