Turkish, Qatari agencies to build residential village in northern Syria for displaced residents

Turkish and Qatari agencies signed a deal Thursday to build a residential village with a 1,000-house capacity in northern Syria.

The agreement to build the village in the al-Bab region for displaced Syrians was reached by the Qatari Red Crescent and Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) in the Qatari capital of Doha.

The head of the agencies inked the deal that is worth $3.5 million

The village will have units of 50 square meters (164 square feet) each in size.

The area where houses are being built will have a mosque, school, health care center and shops.

Yunus Sezer, the head of the Turkish agency told Anadolu Agency that the aim is to improve the living conditions for displaced Syrians currently living in tents.

He noted the "great cooperation" between Türkiye and Qatar as part of the humanitarian effort in Syria and said Doha also is playing a critical role in helping Syrian refugees.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.