Kobane refugee crisis: EU steps up assistance

European Commission

Press release

Brussels, 12 October 2014

Kobane refugee crisis: EU steps up assistance

The European Commission is giving € 3.9 million in humanitarian funding to help meet the urgent needs of the thousands of people who have fled to Turkey in recent weeks to escape the fighting in the Syrian town of Kobane.

“Over 180 000 Syrians have been displaced to Turkey by the fierce fighting in Kobane. This further adds to the impact of what is the biggest humanitarian crisis of our times. We are directing urgently needed funds to help the humanitarian organizations on the ground deal with the massive influx of refugees,” said Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

This funding will help humanitarian organizations provide clean water, shelter and medicine to refugees, as well as ensure sanitation and food services.

It is part of the European Commission's €150 million humanitarian aid budget for the Syrian crisis in 2014. Jointly, the European Union continues to lead the international response to the crisis with nearly €3 billion of funding, mobilised by the Commission and Member States collectively in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance so far.

Background

The town of Kobane near the Turkish border has been the target of ISIL fighters for the past three weeks. This is the biggest influx of Syrian refugees to Turkey since the beginning of the crisis over three years ago. The European Commission has been stepping up its assistance to help meet the needs of more than a million refugees seeking shelter in Turkey, those from Syria as well as Iraq, by increasing its humanitarian funding from the initially foreseen € 3.5 million to € 8.5 million in 2014.