Syria to lead aid visit by OIC

WASHINGTON - Anatolia News Agency

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, secretary-general of OIC, meets with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Syria issue. AA photo

The U.N. humanitarian chief said a Syrian government-led mission will visit Homs, Hama, Daraa and other cities at the center of the country’s uprising starting this weekend, accompanied by U.N. and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) staff who will assess humanitarian needs. 

Amos said in a statement on March 15 that this weekend’s mission will also visit Tartous, Lattakia, Aleppo, Deir el-Zour and rural Damascus. She said the U.N. and OIC technical staff will gather information on the humanitarian situation. Meanwhile, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, secretary-general of the OIC, met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington March 15 to discuss recent developments in Syria, Palestine, Africa and the Middle East.

A comprehensive cooperation program is in place between the U.S. and OIC, and İhsanoğlu said cooperation issues were also discussed. “I’ve told Clinton that we are against a military intervention in Syria, and that we support negotiations to overcome the crisis,” said İhsanoğlu, adding that the U.S. is also against military intervention. “We will extend every type of support to the U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria, Annan, to help him achieve success in his mission.” İhsanoğlu was scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.