RPT: Turkish Red Crescent To Deliver Aid To Seized City Of Ras Al-Ain Amid Syria Offensive

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) The Turkish Red Crescent intends to continue providing aid to northern Syria, choosing the border city of Ras al-Ain, which was captured in the first days of Operation Peace Spring, as the destination of its next humanitarian convoy, the organization's president, Kerem Kinik, told Sputnik.

Ras al-Ain is one of the largest cities of the Hasakah province. Since the start of the Syrian armed conflict, the city has been de facto controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Earlier in the week, the Turkish Red Crescent shipped aid to Tell Abiad in Raqqa province. Both border cities were seized by Turkey over the weekend.

"Regularly we will deliver the humanitarian aid. Now it is enough for one month to the downtown of Tal Abyad, but we are seeking to Ras al-Ain, so next convoy will be there," Kinik, who is also a vice president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in an interview.

Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria on October 9 to clear the border area of the Kurdish militia, viewed by Ankara as terrorists. Ankara has insisted that, among other things, its operation seeks to create conditions for refugees' return to the region.