Syria donor conference raises $11 billion for 2016-2020 – PM Cameron

The government victory near Dara come as a second government offensive closed in on the northern city of Aleppo, touching off a mass internal exodus of residents fleeing toward the Turkish border for safety. The reports blamed rebels for the mortar rounds.

“There’s been a huge breakdown in the social fabric inside Syria”, he said at the conference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is under intense pressure at home after a massive influx of refugees previous year, said the European Union would consider trade preferences for the host countries.

“We need action to stop the indiscriminate bombardment of Syrians, to protect those under siege and facing starvation, and those barred by violence or bureaucracy from safely accessing food, water and shelter”.

The additional aid to the Syrian people will be used to supply them with emergency food, medical supplies, and other necessities. Opposition activists have reported dozens of cases of severe malnutrition.

“We’re now in a situation in Syria where 13.7 million people have been displaced within their own country”.

Turkey’s prime minister estimated that about 70,000 Syrians have fled the bombing and are headed toward Turkey. It will also aim to convince Jordan and Lebanon to do more to offer jobs and schooling to refugees.

A “pause” in the talks was called until at least February 25 after the opposition and government delegations failed to agree on conditions required to get them started.

In recent days, pro-government forces have retaken several villages north of Aleppo. Germany and Britain were among the first on Thursday to make financial commitments.

The U.K. announced that it will commit 1.2 billion pounds ($1.75 billion) in new aid to be delivered over the next four years.

Cameron was one of the hosts of the conference, along with the leaders of Germany, Kuwait and Norway and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Feb. 4 conference was overshadowed by the suspension of peace talks in Geneva the day before, and intense fighting on the ground in Sryia.

The Chinese Foreign Minister stressed that the worldwide community should also step up efforts to seek a political solution to the Syria conflict, which is the ultimate way of solving the country’s humanitarian crisis.

“We will, I am confident, find a way to move forward”, said Kerry, standing alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. “Because whenever there is a meeting between Russia and the USA, the next day there are more attacks in Syria by Russians”.

The conference opened Thursday in London with donor nations exceeding their goal of $9 billion. “Russian Federation voted for that; Russian Federation has a responsibility, as do all parties, to live up to it”, he said on Thursday morning.

The conflict has already claimed 250,000 lives, and many observers have blamed the power vacuum it left for the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

A United Nations envoy halted his attempts to conduct Syrian peace talks this week after the Syrian army, backed by Russian airstrikes, advanced against rebel forces north of Aleppo. In 2016 alone, Jordan can expect to spend $2.7 billion on refugee assistance.

The UK has pledged £1.2 billion in new aid between now and 2020, and the US committed more than £600 million, which will bring total USA humanitarian spending on the five-year war to £3.5 billion.

Organizers believe finding jobs and schools for refugees in the Middle East can help increase regional stability and keep displaced Syrians from fleeing to Europe.