Turkey readies to send humanitarian aid to Fallujah

ANKARA, Nov 18 (AFP) - Turkey will soon send humanitarian aid worth 500,000 dollars (390,000 euros) to the Iraqi rebel bastion of Fallujah, the target of a huge US offensive, officials said Thursday.
"The Turkish Red Crescent is in contact with the Iraqi Red Crescent to send a new convoy of humanitarian aid consisting of food and medical equipment," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a press conference here.
The head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Omer Tasli, told the Anatolia news agency that the aid would be sufficient for 300,000 people and that the first convoy was expected to leave for Iraq in "one or two days".
Turkey has sent one million dollars' worth of aid in the form of tents, blankets, food, water and medical equipment to Iraq since the start of the US-led war, according to officials.
Separately, the Turkish Red Crescent has also begun dispatching aid worth another one million dollars to the Turkmen-majority Iraqi town of Tall Afar, where US military strikes in September led to tensions between Ankara and Washington.

11/18/2004 12:18 GMT - AFP