LOC21:47
18:47 GMT
WASHINGTON, July 30 (KUNA) -- The US is providing about USD 378 million in additional help to help those "battered" by conflict in Syria, where total US humanitarian assistance will now reach more than USD 2.4 billion since the start of the crisis.
Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement on Wednesday that "the brutally indefensible and illegitimate Assad regime continues to pursue its appalling "starve or surrender" tactics against the Syrian people."
"The Syrian regime is asphyxiating half a million Syrians in Aleppo by obstructing deliveries of food, water, and medicine, and dropping dozens of barrel bombs a day on the city and surrounding suburbs.
"Syrians all over the country are being butchered at the hands of a ruthless tyrant," Kerry stressed.
"The world must act quickly and decisively to get life-saving assistance to the innocent civilians who are bearing the brunt of this barbaric war.
"That's why the United States is providing nearly USD 378 million in additional aid to help those battered by conflict," he went on.
"The United States remains the single-largest donor of humanitarian aid for the crisis, and total U.S. humanitarian assistance will now reach more than USD 2.4 billion," he added.
He affirmed "this assistance is having an impact on the ground, right now," adding "our assistance feeds, shelters, and provides medicine and water to millions of refugees throughout the region in countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, all coping with the burden of hosting thousands of refugees."
"We endorse full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2165, which was adopted unanimously. This resolution authorizes UN organizations to bring life-saving assistance across the border into Syria without the Assad regime's consent," he remarked.
"As we continue our humanitarian efforts, we remain committed to finding a political solution to this crisis. We must bring the violence and bloodshed to an end, and work toward a future of dignity and freedom that all Syrians deserve," the U.S. top diplomat stressed. (end)
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