Turkey to build housing for Georgian war victims

The Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) will construct 100 residential units for Georgians displaced by the country’s most recent war.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony near the Georgian city of Gori on Saturday, TİKA head Musa Kulaklıkaya said that the construction of the units will be completed soon and that Georgians in need will move to their new homes in June. Kulaklıkaya also said that TİKA planned and successfully implemented various projects related to agriculture, stockbreeding, health and education in Georgia.

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister David Tkeshelashvili said in a speech that Turkey was the first country to help Georgia during the clashes between the country and Russia in August 2008. Tkeshelashvili thanked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, TİKA the Turkish government and public for their support.

According to data provided by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) and the United Nations, 158,703 people were forced to leave their homes as a result of the clashes.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), nearly 40 percent of that figure is children below the age of 16 who were separated from their families.