Shawdesh desk:

In pursuance of Bangladesh’s commitment to global peace and providing humanitarian assistance for those in disaster zones, the government dispatched a Bangladesh Air Force C- 130 J transport aircraft from Bangabandhu Air Base, Dhaka to Damascus, Syria on Friday night.

The directives of dispatching a special aircraft with relief goods to Syria came from the prime minister in view of the fatal earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, causing a death toll over 24,000 and countless injured and displaced.

The special flight includes a rescue team of 17 members from BAF, relief goods and essential medicine.

The humanitarian assistance contained 11 metric tons of relief goods which included dry cakes (1110 KG), digestive biscuits (556 KG), medicine (930 kG), blankets (1380 KG), tents (4423 KG) and winter clothes, sweater (1390 KG).

The flight is scheduled to return to Dhaka on February 13 after handing over the relief goods to the local authorities in Syria.

Earlier on February 8, Bangladesh Air Force dispatched a similar special flight with relief goods and two medical teams and a rescue team comprising 61 members to Turkey.

The team, in addition to distributing relief works, are contributing to rescue efforts in consonance with Turkish national rescue activities.

The president, prime minister and foreign minister issued separate condolence messages to the Syrian president, foreign minister and the bereaved people of Syria.

As a longstanding friend of the Syrian Arab Republic, the condolence messages conveyed profound shock and sympathies to the victims of the earthquakes and the wounded from the government and people of Bangladesh and expressed full solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria at this critical hour.

Similar condolence messages were also issued to the Turkish government and people expressing sympathies and wishing them early recovery.