Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid arrives in Lebanon

A Turkish ship carrying 58 truckloads of humanitarian aid arrived in Tripoli, northern Lebanon on Saturday.

The ship set sail from the port of Mersin in southern Turkey on Friday, laden with 960 tons of foodstuffs bound for distribution by Lebanese security bodies. 

The humanitarian aid was coordinated by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) with the support of 19 other non-governmental organisations. 

The aid was received in a ceremony attended by the Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon, the head of Lebanon's High Relief Committee, port officials and representatives of AFAD and Turkish NGOs.

"On this meaningful and special day, which coincides with the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan, I'm very happy to be here for the third time in the last two weeks, at Tripoli Port," said ambassador Ulusoy, speaking at the event.

"Turkey doesn't leave its Lebanese brothers alone in difficult times," said the ambassador during his speech. 

This is the third shipment Turkey has supplied to Lebanon in less than a month, as hunger continues to spiral out of control. 

Lebanon is in a deep financial crisis that started in 2019 and has seen most of the country's population fall into poverty.

The World Bank has said the situation is of a scale usually associated with full-scale wars.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market, and prices for basic commodities have skyrocketed.