The UN Human Rights Office estimates more than 306,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in the Syria conflict.
Qatar and Turkey are set to build a residential village for 5,000 displaced Syrians in the Al-Bab area of Aleppo, according to an agreement inked by Qatari and Turkish humanitarian entities on Thursday.
The $3,318,291 agreement was signed by the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
“We at QRCS are very happy to pursue the existing cooperation with AFAD, which reflects the deep brotherly and friendly relations between the two countries and embodies our shared humanitarian goals,” said QRCS Sec-Gen Ali bin Hassan Al-Hammadi.
According to the QRCS, the village comprises 1,000 homes, a mosque, 24 shops, a medical clinic, a primary school, water supply and a sewage system, and a 100-m3 water tower.
The latest agreement comes as part of various initiatives by the two countries to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the ongoing war in Syria.
Turkey is the largest host of Syrian refugees, where more than 3.6 million are currently sheltered as Syria’s Bashar Al Assad regime continues to wage a deadly war against civilians.
In a separate initiative, Qatar Charity announced this year that it will provide a warm shelter for nearly 13,800 internally displaced Syrians in Aleppo under the agency’s largest housing project.
The 280,000 square-meter area, expected to be fully completed by 2023, will have 1,400 housing units for displaced Syrians in Azaz, Aleppo, providing them with shelter and settlement in the war-torn country.
It is named Al Amal, or hope, as a metaphor for QC’s goal to restore faith to thousands of vulnerable people in northern Syria who continue to live in harsh conditions since the Assad regime began a violent crackdown on peaceful protests in Syria more than a decade ago.
According to the UN, there are at least 5,721,883 registered Syrian refugees who were forced to leave their homeland due to the ongoing war in Syria since 2011. The war has also internally displaced 6.7 million people as 13.4 million people are in need of humanitarian protection in the country.
The UN Human Rights Office estimates more than 306,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in the Syria conflict.
Qatar has long called for a political resolution to end the war in Syria as well as the need to ensure the safe return of millions of refugees forced out of their lands in the ongoing war.
In February, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani reiterated his country’s staunch refusal to normalise with the Syrian regime.
The latest announcement comes as Turkey has faced pressure for unveiling a plan to send back Syrian refugees to the war-ridden country, with rights organisations warning of potential reprisals for the returnees.
