Brussels, May. 11 (BNA): An international donor conference raised $6.7 billion for Syria and its neighbors on Tuesday despite what the European Union’s foreign policy chief called “certain fatigue” from the conflict there, now in its 12th year.
The pledges, which are intended to help reach the United Nations target of $10.5 billion in 2022, came at a meeting of 55 nations in Brussels.
Of the total amount raised on Tuesday, $6.1 billion was earmarked specifically for refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons, the largest budget request since the refugee scheme began in 2015.
“We do not forget the Syrian people and the situation in Syria,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat. “Certainly Syria and the suffering of its people may not be in the news anymore. There is a kind of fatigue after 11 years.”
According to the United Nations, more than 6.9 million people have fled their homes inside the country, and more than 6.5 million remain outside Syria, of whom 5.7 million are refugees in the region, and are still hosted by neighbors.
MI