$10 Billion In Aid Pledged At Syria Donors Conference In London

At the conference, Germany also pledged $2.6 billion in new aid through 2018, and the United Kingdom said it would kick in $1.75 billion through 2020.

Mr. Cameron was one of the hosts of the conference, along with the leaders of Germany, Kuwait and Norway and the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.

But it was unclear whether the new pledges made on Thursday would be sufficient to meet the need, which seems likely to grow substantially in coming months as more Syrians flee to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and as warmer weather leads to a resurgence in those making the perilous trip to seek asylum in Europe.

Faced with insufficient humanitarian, development and resettlement support, these countries have implemented border restrictions that have effectively closed the border for refugees, leaving many trapped within Syria or forced to take risky journeys in search of safety.

However, she said more aid needs to be down and called for the worldwide community to come together to scale up their aid effort. But officials said that worldwide aid pledges for the refugees have remained underfunded.

U.N.-facilitated peace talks that began this week have been postponed for three weeks, and U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced Wednesday there would be a “temporary pause” in the indirect peace talks between the government and opposition.

In turn, U.S. Secretary of State John Kasich said the Russian foreign minister has now agreed to at least consider a cease-fire.

“I’m not prepared to have talks for the sake of talks”, he added.

Neither statement mentioned any concrete measures.

Neither the Syrian government nor rebel groups were due to attend the conference.

A Syrian government offensive, backed by Russian air strikes, is continuing north of Aleppo.

Despite the pledges, the mood among many leaders was bleak, reflecting frustration at the halt Wednesday of the so-called proximity talks in Geneva which were seen as the best hope for peace since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

“Without education, who will bring peace?” al-Melihan said.

In return for opening up their economies to the newcomers, host countries are promised loans from worldwide financial institutions and more access to European markets. Britain has already agreed to spend $1.62bn on the region.

Syria’s neighbors had warned the conference that the burden of so many newcomers was becoming intolerable.

“This is a very hard situation”, Steinmeier said, according to an English translation of his remarks. Not only the Syrians in Turkey or Jordan or Lebanon, but also the Syrians within their own country that we will do everything possible to help them.

Now, from a conflict that may soon end to one that rages still in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said an estimated 70,000 Syrians fleeing the bombing were moving towards Turkey. Amateur video showed thousands, including women and children, running with their belongings toward the frontier.

A million migrants from Syria and other countries arrived on the continent previous year, triggering a huge political crisis in the EU. Neither President Bashar Assad’s government nor opposition groups participated.