Turkiye sends 750 tonnes of aid to Afghanistan on 'charity train'

A special "charity train" carrying 750 tonnes of emergency goods under the coordination of Turkiye's government has left for Afghanistan from the Turkish capital Ankara.

The train left Turkiye on Thursday and is bound for a journey of 4,168 kilometres (3,590 miles), according to Turkiye's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu.

"We have two trains with 47 wagons, carrying approximately 750 tonnes of charity goods," Karaismailoglu said, adding that the train will reach Afghanistan after first passing through Iran and Turkmenistan.

Citing the start of an Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul cargo train last December, he said the charity train will travel the corridor in 16 days.

The train is carrying aid from 11 humanitarian organisations coordinated by the state Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

READ MORE: Turkiye launches nationwide aid campaign for Afghanistan

Humanitarian crisis

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu stressed that 12.9 million children in Afghanistan are in need of aid due to extreme weather conditions.

Turkiye will always side with the people of Afghanistan, he said, adding: "For the past four years, we have been the country, the nation that has given the most aid in the world."

Aid agencies describe Afghanistan’s plight as one of the world’s most rapidly growing humanitarian crises.

According to UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA, half the population now faces acute hunger, over 9 million people have been displaced, and millions of children are out of school.

Previously, the UN and its partners launched a $4.4 billion funding appeal to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan in 2022.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has also warned that millions of Afghans are on the verge of death, urging the international community to release Kabul’s frozen assets and jump-start its banking system.

READ MORE: Turkiye to run 'charity train' to Afghanistan as hunger worsens