Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from the News Desk at The Cradle, June 14, 2023
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it has to cut food aid to Syria by 50 percent due to a lack of funding, Middle East Monitor reported on 14 June.
“An unprecedented funding crisis in Syria is forcing a cut in assistance to 2.5 million of the 5.5 million people who rely on the agency for their basic food needs,” a statement from the WFP said. “After exhausting all other options, WFP took the decision to stretch the extremely limited resources by prioritizing 3 million Syrians who are unable to make it from one week to the next without food assistance rather than continue assistance to 5.5 million people and run out of food completely by October.”
WFP Country Director in Syria Kenn Crossley explained further that, “Instead of scaling up or even keeping pace with increasing needs, we’re facing the bleak scenario of taking assistance away from people right when they need it the most.”
The WFP appeal comes a day ahead of the “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region,” which will be hosted by the European Union in Brussels.
The AP reports that aid agencies, such as the WFP, “will struggle to draw the world’s attention back to the plight of Syrians,” at the conference, whose organizers seek to raise some $11.2 billion.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also issued a warning today, stating that about 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line, and more than 15 million people need humanitarian assistance.
The ICRC called on donor countries to “make an immediate international commitment to preserving the vital infrastructure and basic services in Syria.”
The organization also warned that “restrictive measures and international sanctions have impeded the import of spare parts needed to maintain critical infrastructure in major cities.”
“The international community must face the difficult reality that the situation in Syria is intolerable and that failure to act will have serious repercussions for all concerned, and impede any prospects for a sustainable recovery,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the commission’s regional director for the Near and Middle East.
The US and EU imposed sanctions on Syria in 2011 as part of a campaign to topple the Syrian government. The US, Britain, France, Turkiye, and Gulf states funded and armed extremist groups to fight an insurgency against the Assad-led Syrian state starting in March of that year under the cover of anti-government protests.
Additional sanctions have been added over time to strangle the Syrian economy and prevent reconstruction. In 2018, the Trump Administration signed the Caesar Act, as part of “a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure” against the Syrian government.
Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the US Congress last month to further expand the Caesar Act. The legislation requires producing an interagency strategy outlining how the United States plans to counter Syria’s regional reintegration.
Since March of this year, Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia have sought to normalize relations with Syria and its largest backer, Iran, despite US objections.
