Türkiye’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has delivered another 40 briquette houses to needy Syrians in the northern Afrin region, a territory cleared of terrorists by Operation Olive Branch, according to reports released Monday.

A ceremony was organized in Afrin province’s Sharran district as the houses, build through donations, were handed over to the families.

The donation campaign was launched on social media by Human Movie Team. The head of the group, Tülay Gökçimen, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the briquette house campaign was started last year after they saw a photo of a child standing barefoot on snow and freezing.

Gökçimen stated that they participated in the 100,000 briquette house project initiated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with the campaign, and said: "Families have suffered for years. They came from different places, each of them has a sad story. I have been coming here for years to see what it means to live in a tent."

Saying that everyone deserves a dignified life, Gökçimen elaborated that the two-bedroom houses also include a small patio where women can comfortably spend time.

"When we started the project, we thought it would be built in Idlib. We named the briquette houses after our soldiers who were killed in Idlib in 2021. We wanted their names to be remembered," he added.

Um Mohammad, who came to the region three years ago after being displaced from Homs province, said he, his wife and seven children were happy leaving behind the difficult life in a tent and the water problems they often faced.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced in August that 62,145 briquette houses have been completed in Idlib for the honorable, voluntary, safe return of Syrians.

Thanks to the briquette houses built in the countryside of Idlib and other regions, families no longer have to live in tent camps where they are vulnerable to many problems, especially during winter months.

Since launching several operations in northern Syria to fight terrorism, Türkiye has been supporting every aspect of life in the region, from health to education, security and agriculture. In this respect, efforts to clear bombs and improvised explosive devices were launched and administration duties were handed over to local councils. The country also rolled up its sleeves to reconstruct hospitals, schools, mosques and roads destroyed by terrorist groups. Within the scope of strengthening the region's social infrastructure, people were provided food and clothing by several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Roads and buildings were also rebuilt. These efforts paid off as hundreds of displaced Syrians started to return to the liberated areas.

The briquette houses in safe areas provide a secure shelter for Syrians fleeing the oppression of the Bashar Assad regime and its backer Russia.

For years, the Assad regime has ignored the needs and safety of the Syrian people, only eyeing further territorial gains and crushing the opposition. With this aim, the regime has for years bombed vital facilities like schools, hospitals and residential areas, causing the displacement of almost half of the country’s population while adopting policies to make their lives more difficult.