US gives $596M in humanitarian assistance to Syria

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US will make more than $596 million in new humanitarian assistance in response to the Syrian crisis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced the assistance earlier in a statement at the fifth Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region."

She stressed the responsibility of the international community to provide "unhindered" humanitarian access and aid to Syrians in need, including through cross-border assistance.

"The Syrian people have faced innumerable atrocities, including Assad regime and Russian airstrikes, forced disappearances, ISIS brutality, and chemical weapons attacks," said Blinken. "Furthermore, systemic corruption and economic mismanagement at the hands of the Assad regime have exacerbated the dire humanitarian crisis, which has been further compounded by the challenge of COVID-19."

"There is no military solution that will bring peace, security, and stability to Syria, and the region," he added.

The latest aid brings total US assistance to almost $13 billion since the start of the decade-long crisis, which includes nearly $141 million in support of the coronavirus pandemic response in Syria and the region, according to the statement.

Blinken said US assistance will benefit many of the 13.4 million Syrians inside Syria in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as 5.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.