RPT - Turkish Red Crescent Says $400Mln Needed To Meet Needs Of Newly-Displaced People In Syria

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th February, 2020) At least $400 million in funding is needed to meet the basic humanitarian needs of newly-displaced Syrian citizens for the next six months amid an escalation of violence in the country's northwest regions, Kerem Kinik, the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) president and vice president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Sputnik.

The TRC president stated that the number of newly-displaced Syrians has risen rapidly since the start of a government operation to recapture territory controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia) in the Idlib province in December.

"The number of those displaced in northwest Syria from December 2019 to today has now exceeded 1 million individuals," Kinik stated.

In order to meet the basic humanitarian needs of these newly-displaced people, a significant increase in funding would be required, the TRC chief said.

"The humanitarian community needs at least $400 million in funding to respond to the basic needs of these newly displaced for the next six months," Kinik stated.

Earlier in the day, Kinik stated that the TRC is currently stationed on possible refugee routes and border points in order to provide basic humanitarian assistance.

"Humanitarians are responding with available resources and access but the response is still far from meeting all needs," the TRC president remarked.

Kinik added that conditions for civilians in northern Syria have reached crisis levels, and are unlike anything seen so far in the country's almost decade-long conflict. A total of 20,000 people have no shelter at all, and another 200,000 civilians are living in dilapidated or unfinished buildings, he stated.

The TRC chief continued by adding that humanitarian workers even came across a man who was ready to sell his kidney in exchange for a tent because his family had nowhere to stay for more than a month. The organization provided them with a tent in a camp for internally displaced persons, Kinik said.

"This is clearly the worst humanitarian situation observed in northern Syria from the start of the crisis in 2011," the TRC president remarked.

Tensions have been high in Idlib province amid tit-for-tat strikes between Syrian government troops and Turkish units that maintain observation posts in northwest Syria. The situation escalated further on Friday, as Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that 200 Syrian targets were hit by Turkish drones and ground forces after a Syrian airstrike killed 33 Turkish troops.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in February that Turkey has failed to implement a number of key commitments outlined in a bilateral deal on Idlib, and fails to distinguish between Syria's armed opposition, which is ready for dialogue, and terrorist groups. Ankara has insisted that it implements its commitments.