The ship is expected to arrive in Libya within a week and will dock at Misrata Port. Aid supplies on the ship are of crucial importance for the Libyan people who are undergoing difficult days. The food resources in the country have come to the point of depletion.
Holding a news conference at the Zeyport Port, IHH President Bülent Yıldırım said Irmak has a capacity of 1500 tons, adding that IHH’s relief efforts for the brother country Libya will continue.
Noting that aid supplies loaded to the ship have a cost of TL5.3 million, Yıldırım said the IHH has so far provided aid worth of TL6.5 million to the country.
Yıldırım said it is the benevolent Turkish nation which makes delivery of humanitarian aid to Libya possible as he added: “Whenever we organize an aid campaign, our nation shows a lot of interest in our campaign. We see that the public interest in our campaigns has increased further in the aftermath of the Mavi Marmara attack. We offer our thanks to our nation. The important thing for us is to act transparently about the humanitarian relief issue and sincerely take side with the people who are victimized. I think our foundation has achieved this and showed it to the entire world.”
Describing the situation of the Libyan people as “cornered between two fires,” Yıldırım said: “Now, there is a very big domestic conflict in Libya. The winds that shake the Middle East have also affected Libya. Unfortunately, both those who rule the country and the NATO forces that went there to save the public are striking the Libyans. The same NATO forces also hit the people in some Islamic countries. We are near the Libyan people. We can never take side with the occupying powers or those who massacre their nation. We send this aid ship to Misrata. The IHH is in Libya since the start of the public unrest in the country. We have evacuated many Turks and foreigners from the country. We transferred some wounded Libyans to Turkey. And today, we send this aid ship to Misrata, which is the most chaotic region in Libya. There is every kind of aid supply on this ship. There is a mobile hospital which has a cost of 2 million euros. We foresee sending TL 20 million worth of humanitarian aid to Libya.”
Yıldırım also said the IHH which has opened a branch in Benghazi hopes to open another branch in Tripoli.
The aid ship is expected to set sail for Libya on April 13 with its 9 crew members after the end of loading process.
IHH’s relief efforts in Libya
The IHH earlier sent nine containers of humanitarian aid to Libya. A total of 141 tons of aid supplies worth TL713.0000 were loaded to several ships from the İzmir Port.
12 wounded Libyans brought to Turkey
The IHH transferred 12 wounded Libyans who were in critical condition to Turkey by picking them up from Benghazi on 28 March 2011. The IHH also organized evacuation of wounded Libyans from Benghazi via Ankara ferry which was sent to the country by the Turkish Ministry of Health. IHH teams transferred 80 wounded Libyans from the Hawari, Jalaa and Central Hospitals to the ship via ambulances. The IHH also provided logistical support for the ship such as 200 beds and medical supplies.
IHH teams also carried out emergency relief efforts in Libya and at the Libyan-Tunisian border. The teams continue relief efforts in the region.
