02/06/2023
Turkey seeks to improve healthcare in Syria's Afrin.
Healthcare services in Syria’s Afrin has improved since Turkey established medical clinics in several rural areas to provide free medical services for locals.
Turkey has opened medical clinics in several rural areas in Afrin, Syria.
Turkey has opened medical clinics in several rural areas in Afrin, Syria. (TV Screenshot TRT World)
Residents in Syria's Afrin had problems getting healthcare in the six years the YPG/PKK terror group controlled the area, but the healthcare system in the region has now improved with Turkey's support.
Turkish institutions have established medical clinics in several rural areas to provide free medical services for locals.
''When we first came here, the YPG had destroyed all the equipment. We've fixed it and brought new equipment from Turkey. Now, we have doctors here for all the main clinic branches. We're now working side by side, 140 people mainly from Syria,'' said Murat Colakoglu, a chief physician.
The hospital employs Arabs, Turks and Kurds.
"When the Syrian regime was here, there was only a small community clinic. During the YPG's reign, there were only private hospitals, where people had to pay for the treatment and the medicine," said Ilham Rashid, a nurse.
"But now in this hospital, there're professional doctors and good medical equipment. Besides, it's free,'' she said.
Turkey on January 20 launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people. The YPG/PYD is the group’s Syrian branch.
