15 Sep 2022; MEMO: The United States has decided to send an additional $756 million in humanitarian aid to Syria, amid the "dire" situation millions continue to face in the country.
In a statement by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, the amount is a further addition to the $808 million announced earlier this year that will go to "continue our unwavering support for the Syrian people".
He stressed that an international agreement to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid across the border from Turkiye to Syria is essential, and is a "lifeline" for millions of Syrians in the north of the country who have been undergoing a humanitarian crisis and shortage of supplies for years, since they were forced to flee there by the ongoing civil war.
"Cross-border deliveries ensure that life-saving aid including food, medicine and other relief supplies reach people throughout north-west Syria, who rely on this aid to survive," Blinken said. He added that the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, already made the announcement for the additional aid earlier in the day at a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Syria.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict when the regime of Bashar Al-Assad brutally suppressed Syrian protestors 11 years ago, Washington has reportedly supplied around $15.7 billion in humanitarian aid to the country and its people.
