Turkish NGO helped over 1M people in Syria in 2021, vice chair says
IHH volunteers carry aid to the needy in Syria in this photo released on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. (AA Photo)


Turkish nongovernmental organization (NGO) Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) distributed humanitarian assistance to 1.15 million people in Syria in 2021, a senior official said Wednesday.

Cüneyt Kılıç, the vice-chairperson of IHH, who is also in charge of the charity's campaign in Syria, said in a written statement that their efforts in the war-torn country continue unabated.

The IHH sent over 2,500 truckloads of humanitarian aid, weighing 65,000 tons, to Syria in 2021, he elaborated.

The relief boxes mainly included food, blankets, fuel, clothes, tents and personal care material.

"We distributed these materials to the families of the war victims who are trying to survive in tent cities and various settlements," he said.

The total number of aid trucks sent to Syria since 2011 exceeded 24,000, Kılıç added.

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 U.N. estimates.