U.S. Pledges Additional $380 Million in Syria Humanitarian Aid
Lara Jakes of the AP reports from Kuwait City on the U.S. decision to donate an additional $380 million to Syrian humanitarian efforts in the opening days of the U.N.’s Syria donor conference.
The U.S. did warn that “international efforts to ease their suffering will fail if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refuses to let humanitarian assistance get to people who need it,” namely civilians in areas blockaded by government forces.
Announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the funding announcement
“is only a fraction of the $6.5 billion the United Nation hopes to raise for aid to Syria in 2014,” Jakes writes.
“Speaking in a conspicuously opulent palace that served as a backdrop to a U.N. donor conference in Kuwait, Kerry called the humanitarian situation in Syria ‘an outrage, and it should offend every reasonable conscience.’ He urged the forum to help push for a negotiated end to the nearly three-year war, a goal the West says should also remove Assad from power.”
Starvation Reports at Yarmouk Camp
Liz Sly and Ahmed Ramadan of the Washington Post report from Beirut on the unfolding humanitarian crisis at Yarmouk, the hard-hit Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus.
“U.N. officials say they are especially alarmed at the reports of a growing number of deaths emanating from Yarmouk, just a few miles from the heart of Damascus, the capital,” they write.
“’There is profound civilian suffering in Yarmouk, with widespread incidence of malnutrition and the absence of medical care,’ said Chris Gunness of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which is charged with helping displaced Palestinians across the region. Most camp residents have long been eating little other than stale vegetables, powdered tomato paste and animal feed, he said.”
Syria Says West Talks to Damascus About Islamist Rebels
Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad tells the BBC that “Western intelligence agencies have visited Damascus for talks on combating radical Islamist groups,” as rebel infighting intensifies in Raqqa and parts of Aleppo.
Mekdad “said there was a schism between Western security officials and politicians who are pressing President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The growth of jihadist groups among rebels fighting President Assad has caused international concern. Syrian government officials are due to attend peace talks in Geneva next week.
“However, the main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, has still not decided whether or not to take part. Correspondents say the growing disarray of the opposition is frustrating the West and bolstering the confidence of the Syrian government. In a recent interview, Mekdad told the BBC that many Western governments had finally understood that there was no alternative to the leadership of President Assad.”
Press TV: Over 1,000 Dead in Syria Militant Infighting
Iran’s state-run Press TV reports that over 1,000 have died in Syrian rebel infighting.
“More than 1,000 foreign-sponsored militants have been killed in fierce clashes among Takfiri [the term Muslims use when referring to fellow Muslims who they believe have committed apostasy] groups in Syria over the past days,” it says.
“Clashes have been mainly taking place between militants from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and their rivals over the past 10 days. The latest battles have occurred in the northern parts of Syria. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies heavily on a network of spies working for the foreign-backed opposition, said on Tuesday that militants from ISIS seized the northern Syrian city of Raqqa following days of clashes with rival Takfiri groups.”
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:
BBC: Half of Syria’s Population in Urgent Need of Aid, Says UN
Reuters: U.N. Abandons Aid Delivery After Syria Insists on Dangerous Route
Guardian: Donor Fatigue Numbers Enemies of the Syrian People
AFP: ISIS Emir Killed by Rebels
TIME: Syria’s Aid Disaster: How Aid Has Become a Weapon of War