Syria
A human chain calling the continued passage of aid into Syria's rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib on July 2, 2021. File photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States on Wednesday said it will provide $756 million in new humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria, where needs remain “too great.”
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council the new donation is in addition to the $808 million Washington announced to Syria earlier this year.
“This will help humanitarian partners provide clean water, food, hygiene and relief supplies, shelter, protection services, and critical health and nutrition assistance,” Thomas-Greenfield wrote on her Twitter.
Proud to announce over $756 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people.
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) September 14, 2022
This will bring immediate relief and builds on the more than $800 million in assistance for Syrians that I announced in May.
Together, these commitments total more than $1.5 billion this year.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement stressed the importance of an international agreement that allows the delivery of humanitarian aid across the border, deeming it a “lifeline” for Syrians who “rely on this aid to survive.”
“Cross-border deliveries ensure that life-saving aid including food, medicine, and other relief supplies reach people throughout northwest Syria, who rely on this aid to survive,” Blinken said.
In place since 2014, the aid delivery system across Turkey’s border into rebel-held Syria at the Bab al-Hawa crossing is the only way UN assistance can reach Syrians without passing areas controlled by Syrian government forces.
UN Security Council in July adopted a resolution extending the relief mechanism for another six months.
Washington says it has supplied about $15.7 billion in humanitarian aid for Syria since the civil war began 11 years ago.
A peaceful uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March of 2011 turned into a full-scale civil war. The government used deadly force to crush the dissent with protests demanding Assad’s resignation erupting nationwide.
About 13 million people were uprooted by Syria’s conflict. Around 6.8 million have fled the country while another 6.2 people were internally displaced within Syria, according to UN numbers.
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