Emergency care kits, essential medical supplies: the EU announced on Friday the launch of a humanitarian airlift intended for Syria, via Turkey, the first European aid of this type since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
“The European Union-funded aid flights will carry a total of some 50 tonnes of medical supplies from EU stockpiles in Dubai, which will be transported to Adana, Turkey, for distribution across the border in the coming days,” explained the Commission in a press release.
Brussels releases four million more euros
An additional 46 tonnes of aid will be transported by truck from Denmark to Adana in Türkiye before being redistributed in Syria, according to this press release. The European executive will also release four million euros to bring its total humanitarian support to Syria to 163 million euros this year.
This new funding will cover medical equipment, emergency shelter kits and health support, while facilitating the distribution of food packages in northern Syria. The European Commissioner for Emergency Humanitarian Aid, Hadja Lahbib, wrote on
Closely monitoring evolving situation in Syria & in touch with partners in region, including UN.
I instructed the launch of 46 tonnes of vital aid to Syria, with critical humanitarian assistance to affected communities across the country to save lives.https://t.co/Ka3YcPFFYu pic.twitter.com/v9ZfNVKViO
— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) December 13, 2024
According to the United Nations humanitarian agency (Ocha), 1.1 million people, mainly women and children, have been displaced since the start of the rebel offensive on November 27.
“With such a volatile situation on the ground, our help to the Syrian people is even more important,” stressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
At the end of an 11-day offensive, the rebel coalition dominated by the radical Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani seized Damascus on Sunday, ending a half-year -century of power of the Assad family.