US Leads Pledges With $507 Million at Syria Donor Conference
The United States pledged $507 million in humanitarian aid at an international donors’ conference for Syria on Tuesday as the United Nations issued an appeal for $8.4 billion in commitments this year — the organizations largest appeal yet for the war-ravaged country.
Earlier, Kuwait, which is hosting the third annual conference, pledged $500 million. In his opening remarks, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah said the Syrian conflict is the “biggest humanitarian crisis in recent history.”
The civil war, now in its fifth year, has killed at least 220,000 people and displaced 11 million, according to U.N. figures. Of the displaced, nearly 4 million have been forced to flee to nearby countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, stretching resources there to the limit.
More: US Leads Pledges With $507 Million at Syria Donor Conference