KRG MPs to visit Afrin, deliver medical supplies
The purpose of the visit is to “be closely aware of the situation in Afrin,” Tariq Jawhar, a media advisor of the Kurdistan parliament, told Rudaw.
The five-member delegation comes from across the parties: the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Gorran, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), and Kurdistan Communist Party.
The delegation will also take medical supplies with them, provided by the KRG Health Ministry, he added.
The Kurdistan Region parliament discussed the situation in Afrin in a session on January 30.
The Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) is also hoping to send humanitarian aid to the people of Afrin and has asked for authorization from relevant authorities.
“We are calling on all the relevant parties to facilitate so that BCF is able to dispatch necessary humanitarian assistance to the civilians of Afrin as they are in need,” Masrour Barzani, president of BCF’s founding board and senior Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader, said earlier this week.
Delivering aid by land to Afrin would require passing through the Kurdish-led self-autonomous region of Rojava and through areas under the control of Damascus or of Turkish-backed groups.
Turkey’s army, ranked the fourth strongest within NATO by Global Fire Power, is backing elements of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in its operation on the Kurdish canton of the self-autonomous Rojava region that is nearly encircled by Turkey or its proxies and is currently home to 323,000 people, according to UN figures. Of them, 192,000 are in need of humanitarian aid and 125,000 are IDPs.
At least 140 civilians have been killed so far, according to Afrin health officials.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented 70 civilian deaths since the launch of the assault on January 20.
“Medical supplies are inadequate, especially surgical supplies, because of the increasing number of wounded. There has been a serious shortage of medical staff who have spread out to different locations to relieve the pressure on Afrin's main hospital and allow it to focus on serious operations such as limb amputations. We appeal to all humanitarian organizations to help the people of Afrin,” said Angela Rasho, co-chair of the Health Council in Afrin, according to Oxfam.
Turkey resumed airstrikes on the canton on Friday, after several days’ pause.