UK TO GIVE £12MN AID FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES IN JORDAN
London, 9 Dhul Hijja 1434/14 October 2013 (MINA) – The British government says it will offer Jordan £12 million over the next two years to help local communities cope with hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the Arab country.
British International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced on Saturday that Jordan will receive “urgently needed support” to ensure public services keep running as the number of Syrian refugee continues to grow.
She said the UK will provide £12 million to ensure that local Jordanian municipal governments can meet the needs of refugees who have fled to Jordan since the outbreak of the turmoil in Syria more than two years ago.
Earlier in September, British Prime Minister David Cameron also announced an additional £52 million in aid to help Syrian refugees. The extra £52 million brought Britain’s total aid contribution to the crisis in Syria to some £400 million.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting militants operating inside the Arab country.
Britain has also played a major role in fanning the flames of the conflict in the Arab country by arming and training militants fighting against the Syrian government.
In a recent statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country’s conflict, has reached two millions.
Jordan is hosting over 500,000 Syrian refugees, mostly in the north, including in the Zaatari camp which houses almost 130,000 people, according to Press TV report monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
The UK argues that the world is facing the worst refugee crisis since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It is estimated that inside Syria, 6.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Lebanon, a country of 4 million, will soon host 1 million Syrian refugees.
The Zattari camp in Jordan has become the country’s fourth largest city, with a population greater than the British city of Cambridge, but in an area nearly 95% smaller.
The cost of basic items has risen 300% since the conflict began. A kilo of chicken in Damascus costs 10% of the average salary.
In Aleppo only one in five children is getting to school. Downing Street says UN funds needed for inside Syria this year amount to $1.4bn, but so far only $603m has been forthcoming.
Downing Street suggests around 2,500 civilians are trapped in the Old City area of Homs. Under siege by government forces for well over a year, they lack food, safe drinking water and their health status is deteriorating. All attempts by aid agencies to significantly assist or evacuate civilians from the area have so far failed.
Most major routes between large populations are too insecure to use, including the road south of Damascus towards the Jordanian border. The highway between Damascus and Homs is sporadically opened and closed due to security concerns. Slower routes are marked by frequent encounters with unofficial army and paramilitary checkpoints and armed groups.
Eleven UN aid workers and 20 from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have lost their lives since the crisis began. Even when in possession of documents authorising passage, aid workers are often detained or attacked.
Convoy drivers have been arrested, assaulted and/or tortured almost every month this year. The Syrian government has banned the import of basic communication equipment, meaning UN field workers have no resources to operate safely. (T/P04/E1).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
