Middle East

Germany pledges €2.3 billion for Syria humanitarian aid

Syrian army advances against rebel forces north of Aleppo

Two children whose school was bombed in Aleppo pose in a mock-up meant to symbolise a destroyed classroom set up by charity Save the Children outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday on eve of a donor conference aiming to raise money for the millions of Syrians hit by the country’s civil war and a refugee crisis. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Two children whose school was bombed in Aleppo pose in a mock-up meant to symbolise a destroyed classroom set up by charity Save the Children outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday on eve of a donor conference aiming to raise money for the millions of Syrians hit by the country’s civil war and a refugee crisis. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Thu Feb 04 2016 - 10:18

Germany has pledged to give €2.3 billion in aid to Syria by 2018, including €1.1 billion e this year alone, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday at the start of a donor conference in London.

UN agencies are appealing for close to $8 billion this year to cope with the humanitarian disaster caused by the Syrian civil war.

China on Thursday urged participants in Syrian peace talks to show goodwill, after a United Nations envoy halted his attempts to conduct them after Syria's army, backed by Russian air strikes, advanced against rebel forces north of Aleppo.

Staffan de Mistura announced on Wednesday a three-week pause in the Geneva talks, the first attempt to negotiate an end to Syria's war in two years, saying they needed immediate help from the rival sides' international backers, principally the United States and Russia.

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Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said the talks were pointless while President Bashar al-Assad's forces and Russia continued their attacks in the country.

"Russia continues to kill people in Syria. Could there be such a peace gathering? Could there be such peace talks?," Mr Erdogan said in a speech in Peru, in comments which were published on the presidency website.

“In an environment where children are still being killed, such attempts do not have any function apart from making things easier for the tyrant,” he said, casting doubt on whether the talks would resume.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said peace talks were never going to be easy, but China had always believed they were the only way to ultimately resolve the Syria issue.

All parties should work hard and maintain the momentum for the talks, he told a daily news briefing. “We really hope that all parties involved in the peace talks can proactively take confidence-building measures, show goodwill, meet each other halfway and cooperate with the mediation efforts of the UN special envoy,” Mr Lu added.

Rebels in Aleppo will soon be completely encircled, a Syrian army source said on Thursday, as the military continues operations near the city after cutting the insurgents’ most important supply route from the Turkish border.

The source was speaking after the army and allied militia, backed by Russian air strikes, broke through rebel lines on Wednesday to Nubul and al-Zahraa, Shia towns loyal to Damascus lying northwest of Aleppo. “If the army completes its operation in the northwest direction from Zirba, and in the southwest direction from Nubul and al-Zahraa, all the supply routes will be cut. And this is soon,” the source said. Zirba lies southwest of Aleppo.

Reuters