KEY POINTS

  • Earlier, 240 cargo planes and two ships were sent to Syria and Turkey
  • The latest shipment was packed with food, medical supplies and building materials
  • The Emirates Red Crescent leads the distribution of aid in Syria

The United Arab Emirates has dispatched another aid ship to Syria to support relief efforts in the earthquake-stricken country.

The Defense Ministry stated that a second Emirati shipment carrying more than 2,000 tons of aid, including food, medical supplies and winter clothing, docked at Latakia Port in Syria on Sunday. Taking to Twitter, the ministry added that the shipment was sent on the directives of President Sheikh Mohamed, as part of the UAE's Operation Gallant Knight 2 mission.

"Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, the arrival of an Emirati aid ship, the second of its kind, to the port of Lattakia, with a load of two thousand tons of food and relief parcels, as part of #Operation_Knight_The_Charant_2," the ministry tweeted alongside a video of the ship.

The UAE launched Operation Gallant Knight 2 to support the victims of the deadly earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey in February. The disaster and its subsequent aftershocks left at least 50,000 people dead in both countries.

In a tweet earlier on Sunday, the Emirati Defense Ministry said the UAE dispatched 240 cargo planes and two ships as part of its ongoing relief efforts in both countries. "Operation Knight Al-Khalil 2 continues to support Syria and Turkey in facing the earthquake," the ministry tweeted.

The latest shipment sent to Syria weighed 2,215 tons, packed with 1,040 tons of food, 600 tons of relief and medical assistance and 573 tons of building materials intended for the restoration of the areas hard-hit by the earthquakes. The distribution of the relief aid is being led by the Emirates Red Crescent, a volunteer humanitarian organization in the UAE, in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

ERC Board Chairman Dr. Hamdan Al Mazrouei issued a statement, reiterating the UAE government's charitable arm's continued support to the earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey. "The ERC will continue to scale up its humanitarian response for the best interest of the quake-affected people in Syria and Turkey as part of Operation Gallant Knight 2," he said.

"We are acting and moving in different directions to relieve the suffering caused by the disaster," he added.

The February 6 quake in one of the world's most active seismic zones has killed more 43,000 in Turkey and Syria
AFP