A UN envoy warned Monday of a “horrifying” humanitarian situation brewing in Syria as non-governmental organizations pledged more than $480 million for refugees on the eve of a major donor conference.
The United Nations aims to raise $8.4 billion at the Syria donor meeting, which starts on Tuesday in Kuwait, reports AFP.
“Failing to meet the required funds risks resulting in a horrifying and dangerous humanitarian catastrophe,” Abdullah al-Maatuq, UN special envoy for humanitarian affairs, told a meeting of NGOs.
Among the aid groups which gathered on Monday, the largest pledge of $100 million was made by Turkey’s IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, the group behind the infamous 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla that sought to breach Israel’s legal naval blockade of Gaza.
When the ships refused to stop, IDF soldiers boarded upon which they were assaulted by the “humanitarian” activists wielding knives, iron bars and other lethal weapons. The soldiers were forced to open fire to save their lives, killing ten of their assailants. Israel found the supposed humanitarian flotilla in fact was not carrying any humanitarian aid, or any other type of supplies for that matter.
Other donors included Qatar’s Red Crescent Society and Kuwait’s International Islamic Charity Organization.
UN humanitarian affairs chief Valerie Amos said the donor response at Tuesday’s conference “needs to be comprehensive.”
She said that the humanitarian situation had deteriorated in Syria with no reduction in violence and children particularly affected.
The aid is urgently required to provide life-saving assistance to half of Syria’s population as several UN aid agencies have said they remain underfunded and warned they could halt or downsize their operations.
The Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference to be held on Tuesday will be chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and will be opened by Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
At the first and second conferences, also hosted by Kuwait, pledges of $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion were made, but the United Nations has complained that not all pledges were honored.
In a report on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Syria released last week, Ban said devastation from the fighting had left around 7.6 million people internally displaced.
Another 3.9 million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries. “Every day brings more death, displacement and destruction,” the UN report said.
