EU announces launch of 'air bridge' to deliver Syria aid via Türkiye

The European Commission on Friday announced the launch of an "air bridge" operation to deliver an initial 50 tonnes of health supplies to Syria via neighbouring Türkiye. The items from EU stockpiles in Dubai will be flown to Adana, Türkiye for distribution in Syria "in the coming days," a commission statement said.

The commission said it had mobilised an additional four million euros "to address the most urgent humanitarian needs," bringing its total support this year to 163 million euros. 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.

The UN's World Food Programme 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.