Syrian children listen to a teacher during a lesson in a temporary classroom in the Suruc refugee camp.
The European Union on Wednesday approved a new assistance package worth €400 million ($468 million) for the education of Syrian refugees in Turkey.
According to a statement from the European Commission, the funding is the first action adopted following the agreement by EU member states to finance an additional €3 billion ($3.5 billion) for the Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
The package will focus on outreach, increasing quality of education for students, Turkish language training for adults, the continuation and improvement of the examination system, and social cohesion activities, the commission said.
A Turkish group related to Turkey's religious authority has restored and repaired 108 mosques in areas of Syria damaged by terrorists, it announced Wednesday.The Turkish Diyanet Foundation (TDV) -- affiliated with Turkey’s Religious Affair Directorate -- has plans to restore 160 more mosques damaged by YPG/PKK terrorists, it added.In its Operation Euphrates Shield which ended in March 2017, Turkey cleared the northern Syrian regions of Jarablus, Al-Rai, Al-Bab, and Azaz of YPG/PKK terrorists.Dozens dead in Daesh attacks on Syria's Sweida city, villagesOrdinary Syrians and local religious leaders welcomed and praised the foundation’s restoration and repair work.“We're so glad that Turkey has given due attention to our religious places and rituals,” Ahmet Yasin, a religious leader in Azez, told Anadolu Agency. “We're very grateful to the foundation and Turkey.”Turkish army conducts 19th round of patrols in ManbijHasan Ahmed, a muezzin who calls the faithful to prayer in al-Bab, said the mosques look almost as good as new.“The carpets, broken windows, and even walls were fixed,” he added.
108 mosques in northern Syria restored by Turkish group
"With the endorsement of the second tranche of funding by EU member states, we are continuing to deliver on our commitment to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey," Johannes Hahn, commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said.
In March 2016, EU and Turkey reached an agreement to stop irregular migration through the Aegean Sea, and improve the conditions of Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey was set up in 2015 to support Syrian refugees in Turkey. The EU facility has a total budget of €6 billion ($7 billion) from the EU budget and the EU members.
Multiple attacks killed at least 100 people and wounded 78 others in Sweida and villages northeast of the Syrian city, the head of the health authority told state-run Ikhbariyah TV.A suicide bomber blew himself up near a marketplace in the city early on Wednesday, as Daesh terrorists mounted attacks on several villages to the northeast.State media said authorities were hunting down terrorists in the city.Daesh said in a statement that it had carried out the attacks.the seemingly coordinated attacks were the deadliest to hit government territory in many months. Northeast of Sweida city, Daesh launched simultaneous attacks on several villages where they clashed with government forces, state media and the Observatory said.In the city itself, at least two attackers blew themselves up, one near a marketplace and the second in another district, state television said. State news agency SANA said two other Daesh terrorists were killed before they could detonate their bombs.
Death toll tops 100 in Daesh attacks on Syria's Sweida
Turkey hosts nearly 3.6 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.
As of the beginning of 2018, the country has nearly spent $30 billion for the refugees it hosts, according to a report by the Turkish parliament.
In 2016, Turkey was named the most generous nation as per percentage to gross national income and it came in second after the U.S. on a list of most charitable countries in the world.