Turkish Red Crescent Delivers Aid To Residents Of Syrian Tal Abyad Affected By Hostilities

The Turkish Red Crescent has delivered humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian northern city of Tal Abyad affected by Ankara's military operation, the head of the aid agency, Kerem Kinik, told Anadolu news agency on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2019) The Turkish Red Crescent has delivered humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian northern city of Tal Abyad affected by Ankara's military operation, the head of the aid agency, Kerem Kinik, told Anadolu news agency on Tuesday.

"This morning, our colleagues reached Tal Abyad along with a convoy of one tractor-trailer and two trucks. They are handing out food and hygiene supplies to affected people," Kinik said.

According to him, two new border gates were opened for aid deliveries as part of the ongoing Turkish offensive.

Tal Abyad has been one of the strongholds of the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia) in Syria before it was retaken by the Kurdish People's Protection Units' (YPG) in 2015.

Turkey considers the YPG an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and designates both as a single terrorist organization. Ankara considers the presence of Kurdish militia operating in the north of Syria, close to the Turkish border, a threat to its national security and has repeatedly criticized the United States for providing military and financial support to the Kurds.

Last week, Turkish troops crossed into northeastern Syria in a bid to create a "safe zone" along the border that would be free of Kurdish forces. The Defense Ministry said that the troops captured the cities of Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad over the weekend.