The third train carrying humanitarian aid supplies reached Afghanistan on Monday after departing Turkey in February.
The “Kindness Train,” coordinated by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), entered Afghanistan through the Torghundi border gate from Turkmenistan after completing a 4,168-kilometer (2,589-mile) journey.
It has brought in 994 tons of humanitarian aid designated for those in need in Afghanistan, as the country grapples with a serious economic crisis after the Taliban takeover.
Turkey’s Consul-General in Herat Sinan Ilhan, officials from AFAD, the Turkish Red Crescent (Türk Kızılay) and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), and Afghan authorities attended the ceremony to welcome the train at the Torghundi border crossing.
Burhan Aslan, the chairperson of AFAD’s international humanitarian aid group, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the train was carrying food, blankets and clothing for those in need.
The supplies are expected to be packaged in Herat and will be distributed among 500 families in 17 provinces, Aslan said, adding that the aid that arrived on the first train on Feb. 7 has been completely distributed.
Aid groups describe Afghanistan's plight as one of the world's most rapidly growing humanitarian crises.
According to the United Nations, half the population now faces acute hunger, over 9 million people have been displaced and millions of children are out of school.
Previously, the U.N. and its partners launched a $4.4 billion funding appeal to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan in 2022.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also warned that millions of Afghans are on the verge of death, urging the international community to release Afghanistan's frozen assets and jump-start its banking system.
The Turkish government has taken a pragmatic approach to the events in Afghanistan, involving the emergency of the Taliban after the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Underlining that new realities have emerged in the country, Ankara said it would move forward accordingly while keeping communication with all relevant leaders open.
NATO member Turkey maintained its embassy in Afghanistan after Western countries withdrew following the Taliban takeover and have urged those countries to step up engagement. At the same time, it said it will only work fully with the Taliban if they form a more inclusive administration.
