A Glance at Which Countries Are Pledging What for Syrians

It will also go towards food, shelter, medical care and rebuilding health facilities in Syria itself.

Cameron said the worldwide community would help the three main refugee host countries to meet their commitments on jobs and education, including with $40 billion of loans from financial institutions and the opening up of European markets.

Meanwhile, rebels in the Syrian city of Aleppo are now surrounded from the north, south and east following advances by government forces and pro-regime fighters.

 The suspension of peace talks and stepped-up military offensives by the Syrian government underline the urgent need for aid for the millions of Syrians that have been forced to flee their homes.

The exodus from Syria shows no signs of ending.

Mr Cameron said the latest British contribution – to be delivered over the next four years – will take total United Kingdom support since the start of the crisis in 2011 to £2.3 billion and should “set the standard” for the rest of the global community.

The one-day meeting, held under tight security at a conference center near Parliament, aspired to bring new urgency to the effort to help the 4.6 million Syrians who have sought refuge in neighboring countries including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The European Investment Bank is to lend $13.9 billion to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt over the next five years.

Jordan’s King Abdullah said his country could not sustain unaided the burden of nearly 1.3 million Syrian refugees, who now make up a fifth of Jordan’s population. “Only political dialogue will rescue the Syrian people from their intolerable suffering”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the meeting.

United Nations agencies are appealing for US$7.73 billion (S$10.8 billion) to cope with the disaster this year, plus US$1.2 billion to fund national response plans by countries in the region.

World leaders from more than 60 countries were joined by representatives from worldwide organisations and NGOs.

Part of the reason for the record request is the underfunding of previous appeals.

The talks, aimed at creating a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, broke up amid opposition anger over the brutal Russian air campaign over Aleppo province.

The Syrian government, backed by Russian airstrikes, has increased the pace of attacks on opposition forces in recent days as the talks faltered. Staffan de Mistura, the UN’s special envoy at the talks, admitted there had been a lack of progress but said that the negotiations had not failed.

The UN has already said that it is short of $9bn it deems necessary this year to improve schooling, access to work and help Syrians survive.

Why is there a war in Syria?

“It’s really disappointing that this conflict took so long, but we are hoping that a time will come that peace will be restored and that campaign will continue”.

How has the world reacted? Hezbollah and Iran are believed to have troops and officers on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russian Federation are carrying out air strikes.