A BRADFORD man who has returned from his second aid trip to the Syrian border has said the humanitarian crisis there is worsening.
Nazim Ali spent ten days on the Turkish side of the border, where refugee camps house hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the conflict in Syria.
Mr Ali, the general secretary of the Bradford-based Naqshbandia Active Development Association, travelled to Turkey with the SKT Welfare Charity Team to distribute food and toys to the refugees.
He said: "The abject poverty I witnessed was truly shocking, with mothers struggling to feed their offspring and offering their children for adoption so that they will be in a better position to be looked after.
"We heard horrifying accounts of the killing of the parents of the children, with many children witnessing the gruesome murders and visibly looking traumatised."
Mr Ali said some of the stories he heard had left him close to tears.
He said: "It is important we do not forget about the externally displaced Syrian refugees who are suffering from the conflict in their country.
"The humanitarian situation on the ground is getting worse, with almost two million externally displaced Syrian refugees in Turkey alone."
Mr Ali helped to distribute almost 2,000 food parcels to the most needy refugees, including widows and orphans, and distributed toys to orphaned children. He had raised more than £15,000 ahead of the trip.
It was Mr Ali's second visit to the Turkish-Syrian border region, having spent a fortnight volunteering there last October.
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