An Armenian transport plane Antonov AN 12, flying to Syria with humanitarian aid for the local Armenians, has today landed in Turkey according to a preliminary agreement, AIR Armenia cargo airline said today, RIA Novosti reported.
The Turkish authorities ordered the Armenian transport plane, flying with humanitarian aid to Syria, to land at the airport in Erzurum in the east of the country to inspect it, local media reported. According to the NTV Company, experts are checking the cargo. The authorities have not made a statement in connection with that inspection.
Armenian planes have now landed in Erzurum for inspection for a second time. The first occurred on October 15 after an eight-hour examination on the Yerevan-Aleppo bound aircraft. Later, the plane was allowed to continue flying.
Turkish authorities said earlier they will inspect all cargo planes flying to Syria, to check the possible presence of weapons on board.
The second flight with humanitarian aid for Syrian Armenians was sent by made by Syrian Airlines bypassing Turkey. The cargo was delivered from Yerevan to Aleppo by air via Iran and Iraq.
A large Armenian community lives in Syria. According to some estimates, around 80,000-100,000 people, of which 50,000-60,000 live in Aleppo and the rest in Latakia, Damascus, Kesap and Al Qamishli.
The public initiative Help your brother in Armenia is collecting humanitarian aid for the Syrian Armenians. Previously, member of the initiative Lilit Galstyan said that the public initiative has collected about 40 tons of food.
The conflict in Syria has been lasting from March 2011. According to UN various sources, from 20,000 to 30,000 people became victims. Syrian authorities say they face resistance of well-armed militants, which are supported from the outside.