EU ‘air bridge’ to deliver Syria aid via Turkey

The European Commission on Friday announced the launch of an “air bridge” operation to deliver an initial 50 tons of health supplies to Syria via neighboring Turkey, Agence France-Presse reported.

The items from EU stockpiles in Dubai will be flown to Adana, Turkey, for distribution in Syria “in the coming days,” a commission statement said.

A further 46 tons of relief supplies will be trucked from an EU stockpile in Denmark to Adana, for distribution in Syria by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

The UN humanitarian agency says more than a million people, mostly women and children, have been newly displaced in Syria since the launch of the rebel offensive that ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she would “be further discussing the delivery of humanitarian aid” when she travels to Turkey to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.

“With the situation on the ground so volatile, our help to the people of Syria is ever more important,” she was quoted as saying.

The commission said it had mobilized an additional 4 million euros “to address the most urgent humanitarian needs,” bringing its total support this year to 163 million euros ($170 million).

The new funding will cover trauma kits, critical health supplies, emergency shelter kits and sanitation support as well as facilitate the distribution of food parcels to 61,500 people in northern Syria.

EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib wrote on X she was “closely monitoring [the] evolving situation in Syria & in touch with partners in region, including UN.”

The UN’s World Food Program has separately called for $250 million in funding for food assistance to Syria over the next six months, to provide for up to 2.8 million displaced and vulnerable people.

Assad’s downfall capped nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.