Date : 23/01/2013
WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (KUNA) -- White House press secretary Jay Carney on
Wednesday defended the U.S. response to the humanitarian crisis affecting the
Syrian people.
During a briefing, Carney was told that there was a bipartisan call in the
U.S. Congress urging President Barack Obama to expedite delivery of U.S.
humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, including the Syrian Opposition
Council.
The United States is the single largest bilateral donor of humanitarian
assistance to the Syrian people, Carney said in his response.
"In coordination with our international humanitarian partners, we are
supporting and complementing the generous efforts of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon
and Iraq, whose governments and communities are hosting refugees fleeing the
violence in Syria," Carney said.
The United States is providing 210 million dollars in humanitarian
assistance to help millions of people inside Syria as well as to assist nearly
670,000 Syrians who have fled beyond that country's borders, he said. The
American people are funding the provision of life-saving food, medical care,
blankets and essential winter supplies, which are reaching children, women and
men in all 14 governorates inside Syria as well as refugees in the neighboring
countries, he added.
"And you know, let us be clear," Carney said. "The responsibility for the
humanitarian crisis in Syria lies with Bashar al-Assad and his regime. Every
day the regime's hold on power weakens, territory slips from its grasp, and
the opposition becomes more capable and confident. Syrians are taking back
their dignity, and the United States will continue to lead international
efforts to assist the Syrian people and to provide the kind of humanitarian
aid that we have thus far." (end)
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