By Irmak Akcan and Omer Koparan
DAMASCUS (AA) - The Turkish Red Crescent on Saturday opened a new delegation office in the Syrian capital Damascus, marking its second foreign mission.
The office was inaugurated at the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) headquarters during a ceremony attended by Turkish Red Crescent President Fatma Meric Yilmaz, Syrian Red Crescent President Mohammad Hazem, and Turkish Red Crescent General Director of International Affairs and Migration Services Alper Kucuk, alongside other officials.
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the signing of a protocol, the Turkish delegation office was officially established within the Syrian Red Crescent building. Aid packages were distributed to those in need following the event.
Yilmaz and Hazem later traveled to the Barzeh district in Damascus to deliver aid to vulnerable residents.
Yilmaz presented a commemorative plaque to Hazem, congratulating him on his recent appointment as president of the Syrian Red Crescent. She expressed her satisfaction with their ongoing collaboration, noting their prior work on humanitarian efforts in Idlib.
This delegation office will help them better assess needs and coordinate services in the region, Yilmaz pointed out. "Every country's Red Crescent, by working with others within its own country, gains significant strength in the field of humanitarian aid."
She emphasized the importance of the partnership, adding: “As the leaders of two Red Crescents, we’ve pledged to cooperate in accelerating recovery efforts and advancing humanitarian assistance.”
Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.
The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.
*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Istanbul