Union of Civil Society Organizations Hold Urgent Meetings to Meet the Needs of Ayn al-Arab Refugees

 The Union of Syrian Civil Society Organization, CAN organization, Turkish and international organizations held an emergency meeting on Wednesday at the Union’s headquarters in Istanbul to discuss meeting the needs of the Syrian refugees who fled the town of Ayn al-Arab and its surrounding villages in the wake of ISIS’s attack on these areas. Mohammad Hassan, head of CAN organization, pointed out that approximately 130,000 people inhabiting 55 villages fled their homes and entered Turkey. Some has sought refuge in the cities of Urfa and Sorouj, mostly are now staying in the public parks, while some are now stranded along the border and are sleeping in the open. Hassan said that many civilians are still trapped in their towns and cannot leave, stressing that the majority of the displaced are women and children and are in need of urgent relief aid. A delegation of the Syrian Coalition visited earlier the refugee camps in the Turkish city of Urfa and met with the refugees who were forced to flee the town of Ayn ​​al-Arab (Kobanî.) Nasr al-Hariri, Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition, and Mohammed Qaddah, vice president of the Syrian Coalition, pledged to provide the Syrian refugees with food and medical aid and also to secure the education requirements for the children of the refugee camps. The Turkish custodian of the Syrian refugees in Gaziantep stressed his country’s readiness to lend a helping hand to the newly-arrived refugees while warning at the same time of attempts by saboteurs to infiltrate the borders. He also said that the Turkish authorities would meet the needs of the Syrian refugees in coordination with the special committee formed by the Syrian Coalition to follow up on the needs of the refugees. Hariri praises the Turkish position that has been supportive of the Syrian Revolution. The Syrian Coalition said it had developed plans to respond to the mass exodus of Syrians from all backgrounds as a result of the terrorist acts practiced by the Assad regime against the Syrian people in order to destabilize the region. The Syrian Coalition’s special committee began the work assigned to them and began providing the Syrian refugees with the required in cooperation with the Turkish government. (Source: Syrian Coalition)