Billions pledged to help war-torn Syria

Billions of dollars have been pledged to help ease the plight of Syrians affected by the five-year conflict.

At a donors' conference in London, dozens of countries committed to help reach the target of $9bn (£6.2bn). The EU pledged $3.3bn (€3bn; £2.3bn).

UK Prime Minister David Cameron told the conference: "There is a critical shortfall in life-saving aid."

The gathering has been overshadowed by the suspension of peace talks in Geneva and intense fighting on the ground.

A Syrian government offensive, backed by Russian air strikes, is continuing north of Aleppo.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said an estimated 70,000 Syrians fleeing the bombing were moving towards Turkey.

Sixty countries are represented at the conference, including 30 world leaders. They are aiming to help the 4.6 million refugees and 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria.

Both David Cameron and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of the need to get all Syrian refugee children into education within months.

The pledges included $2.6bn from Germany, $1.7bn from the UK, $1bn from France and $925m from the US.

Australia, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Japan, the UAE, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Denmark and Finland also committed funds...
BBC
4/2/16
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