"Every day, the situation inside Syria becomes more and more dramatic," Europe's aid commissioner said
p>LONDON (AlertNet) - The European Commission will provide an additional 7 million euros ($9.2 million) in emergency aid for Syrians who have been wounded in clashes there or have fled to neighbouring countries, its humanitarian department said on Thursday.This brings the Commission's overall aid contribution to the Syrian crisis to 10 million euros ($13 million), following an initial allocation of 3 million euros ($3.9 million) in February.
"Every day, the situation inside Syria becomes more and more dramatic," Europe's aid commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva, said in a statement.
"One year of escalating violence has caused massive suffering among the Syrian population. Too many civilians have died. Too many families are forced to flee their homes. A large part of the population now experiences shortages of food, fuel and medical care," she said.
Clashes flared across Syria on Thursday, opposition activists said, a day after the U.N. Security Council called on all sides to stop fighting and seek a negotiated settlement to the year-long uprising.
More than 36,000 Syrians have already sought refuge in neighbouring countries - mainly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, but also in Iraq and Libya, according to the European Commission.
Between 1.5 and 3 million people are estimated to be affected by the violence, and the U.N. has said more than 9,381 have been killed since the government began its crackdown on protesters in March 2011, according to the European Commission statement.
Inside Syria, the new European funding will pay for emergency health support, protection activities - mainly visits to detainees - and food assistance, the commission said.
In neighbouring countries, it will be spent on medical aid, registration of refugees, food assistance to Syrian refugees and their host families, and the distribution of relief items such as blankets, kitchen equipment and fuel. There are also plans to fund psychological care for people who have been traumatised.
The aid will be channelled through the European Commission's humanitarian partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR).
Georgieva said she was "gravely concerned" for Syrians who urgently need humanitarian support to survive.
"A daily humanitarian truce is absolutely vital in order to provide assistance when people are in most dire need of help," she added.
JOINT ASSESSMENT MISSION
Humanitarian access inside Syria remains extremely restricted and information about the situation on the ground is scarce. Most foreign non-governmental organisations have not been able to deploy international staff inside the country since March 2011.
Recently, a team comprising members of the Syrian government, the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation began a joint humanitarian assessment of besieged towns in Syria. The exercise, which began on Sunday, is due to last a week to 10 days, but no information is likely to be available about its findings until it ends.
Earlier this month, the United Nations said it was readying food stocks for 1.5 million people in Syria as part of a 90-day emergency plan, and diplomats and U.N. sources told Reuters that the plan - provisionally requiring financing of $105 million - was likely to translate into a funding appeal to donors.
Last week, the British government announced it was increasing aid to Syria by 2.5 million pounds ($3.95 million) for food, medical assistance and healthcare via the United Nations.
The money will also fund a regional coordinator for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who will work on the ground to ensure a joined-up international response, and two armoured cars to protect civilian assessment teams, the UK's Department for International Development said.
In February, it pledged 2 million pounds ($3 million) for agencies operating in Syria to provide medical assistance, food rations and drinking water.
"There are multiple areas of need across Syria and thousands of people are without sufficient food, shelter or medicine," Britain's International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said in a statement.
"The Syrian regime must immediately put in place a robust arrangement to ensure all impartial humanitarian organisations working in Syria have unhindered access on a regular basis," he added.
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