Foreign Minister Steinmeier: Germany to increase humanitarian assistance for the victims of the Syria conflict by 80 million euros.

The second International Pledging Conference for Syria is taking place in Kuwait today at the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon.

Foreign Minister Steinmeier issued the following statement in Berlin today (15 January):

> The suffering endured by people in Syria worsens every day. Millions of people in the region depend on the support of the international community.

> Germany is therefore providing a further 80 million euros in humanitarian aid for people from Syria. We want, and indeed must, work together to alleviate the suffering of the many people who have lost everything as a result of the civil war and have fled war and violence.

The additional funding will mainly be used to continue and expand humanitarian projects run by German NGOs. Furthermore, Germany is supporting measures launched by the United Nations and other international organisations.

Since 2012, Germany has made available a total of around 440 million euros for people in need in Syria and neighbouring countries. The German Government is thus one of the largest bilateral donors in the Syria crisis.

According to UN estimates, over nine million people in Syria are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. Around 6.5 million people in Syria have been displaced internally and more than 2.3 million have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, in particular Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. The UN appeal for Syria is calling for around 2.27 billion US dollars for 2014 to meet the humanitarian need inside the country. Around 4.2 billion US dollars will be required for neighbouring countries.