States pledge $10 billion for aid to Syria

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Friday, February 5, 2016

Yesterday, a donor conference of nations was held in Westminster, London, United Kingdom to collect money for aid to Syria. UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced more than $10 billion were pledged in one day, for "food, medical care, and shelter", and other purposes including creation of schools to benefit one million Syrian children by the end of the coming school year. Cameron also said this was the biggest sum ever collected for an international crisis in one day.

David Cameron, British PM, in 2014.

The "Supporting Syria and the Region" conference goal was more than $7 billion asked for by the United Nations and around $1.3 billion by countries of the region. Pledges included $3.3 billion from the European Union; $1.7 billion from the UK until 2020; $2.6 billion from Germany until 2018; and for 2016, $1 billion from France and $935 million from the United States.

Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish prime minister, said a Syrian government offensive with Russian air support is sending about another 70,000 Syrians to the Turkish border, and expressed worry this would continue. Syrian rebels suspended Geneva, Switzerland peace talks with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, protesting the current offensive. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights recently said Russian airstrikes have killed around 1,400 Syrian civilians.


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