Syria Aid Conference Begins in Brussels
Officials from some 70 countries gathered in Brussels for an aid conference on Syria and Syrian refugees, as the U.N. warned that funds were dangerously low.
The E.U. is hosting the “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” conference, co-chaired by the U.N., Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar and the U.K. It began with workshops on April 4 that will be followed by a formal pledging session on April 5.
E.U. foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said the conference would follow up on donor pledges made at the last Syria aid conference in London in February 2016. That gathering saw countries pledge nearly $11 billion over four years.
Yet the U.N. warned that little aid for Syrians has actually been delivered. The U.N. anticipates it will need $4.63 billion to assist Syrian refugees this year, yet it has only received some $433 million – about 9 percent of the total.
More than 5 million Syrians have fled the country since the war began in 2011.
“The situation is getting desperate,” said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi. “We recognize and applaud the donations made so far, but the simple truth is that funding isn’t keeping up with needs.”
The U.N. has also appealed for $3.6 billion for humanitarian aid inside Syria. The aid conference will also address U.N.-backed peace efforts, including the recent U.S. reversal on Assad’s departure, officials said.
South Sudan Forces Attack Border Town
South Sudanese government forces attacked a town on the border with Uganda, sending thousands fleeing for their lives, Reuters reported.
Witnesses said government troops (the Sudan People’s Liberation Army) raided Pajok on April 3 and killed anyone in sight. “If you ran, you got shot. If you got arrested, you got slaughtered,” survivor Lokang Jacky, 35, told the news agency.
More than 3,000 people fled over the border into Uganda, joining 800,000 South Sudanese refugees already in the country.
“The town is completely empty,” a pastor told Reuters of the 50,000-person town. “If they catch anybody, they will kill them.”
Sinking Boat Rescued in English Channel
French authorities rescued six Iranians who were trying to reach the U.K. from a fishing boat in the English Channel.
They were suffering from mild hypothermia, the French maritime authority said, noting that it took several hours to find the sinking boat due to thick fog.
Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers are believed to be in northern France – many of them in hiding since the demolition of the Jungle camp – waiting for a chance to reach the U.K. Few risk boat journeys, preferring to hide in vehicles crossing through the Channel Tunnel.
Recommended Reads:
- The New Yorker: The Desperate Journey of a Trafficked Girl
- World Economic Forum: Europe’s Refugee Crisis Is Making Headlines, but Latin America’s Is Just as Alarming
- Carnegie Middle East Center: Coming Home? A Political Settlement in Syria Must Focus on Refugees
- ABC Australia: Iranian Refugee’s Film Shot on Mobile Phone Shows Life Inside Manus Island Detention Centre