syria
Lebanon and Jordan now have the highest number of refugees worldwide. And with the humanitarian crisis continuing, a leading British think tank on foreign affairs suggests Britain should allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to settle in the UK to enhance Middle East relations — despite Britain's controversial role in its foreign and military interventions in the region.
The examples of Iraq and Syria, not to mention NATO’s 2011 campaign in Libya, should be enough to make us stop and think. Bombardment alone cannot replace a political strategy, even if in Libya - a country with Sunni majority - ISIS cannot feed off the same sectarian claims that helped it in Iraq and Syria.
As Syria’s war enters its fifth year, its refugees are fading deeper into the background. At a conference in Kuwait last week, countries promised more aid, but donor fatigue has left humanitarian organizations unable to help people like Deen, and that’s creating an opportunity for the Islamist militants who play a growing role in the conflict. This month, Islamic State and and al-Nusra Front militants took over much of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.
This week PD News focuses on different approaches taken to help address both the political and humanitarian needs to resolve the crisis.
The Arab Summit, held recently at Sharm El-Sheikh, can be the beginning of a new phase in joint Arab action and the credibility of Arab countries if decisions are translated into reality.
The United States pledged $507 million in humanitarian aid at an international donors' conference for Syria on Tuesday as the United Nations issued an appeal for $8.4 billion in commitments this year — the organization's largest appeal yet for the war-ravaged country.
The international community has pledged $3.8bn to tackle the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Syria – less than half the amount the UN says is needed this year to help the millions of people affected by the ongoing conflict.
Fuat Oktay, the president of Turkey's Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) remarked that AFAD is engaging in humanitarian aid by hosting Syrian refugees and that AFAD's accomplishments until now are beyond its mission.