Turkey will build 500 tents to host over 3,000 civilians in Syria's Azaz, where the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) opened a new front of the Operation Olive Branch, east of Afrin, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Tuesday, reaffirming Turkey's continuous support to those in need.
"We are always with those who need our support," Çavuşoğlu said on his official Twitter account.
His statement came ahead of a visit to France.
The foreign minister noted that Turkey established two camps with 700 tents to shelter civilians fleeing violence in Idlib prior to Operation Olive Branch, which was launched on Jan. 20.
"We tirelessly continue our humanitarian aid to the people of Syria as my country hosts 3.5 million Syrian guests. We provide shelter to 235,000 people in 21 refugee camps."
On Saturday Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PKK terrorist organization's Syrian offshoot People's Protection Units (YPG) and Daesh terrorists from Afrin in northwestern Syria.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect the Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.
The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, U.N. Security Council's decisions, self-defense rights under the U.N. charter and respect to Syria's territorial integrity, it said.
The military also said the "utmost attention" was being paid to not harm any civilians.
Afrin has been a major hideout for the YPG since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.
