Qatar, UAE donate $55 million for Syrian refugees

DOHA/ABU DHABI – Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has ordered that $50 million be allocated to support Syrian refugees and displaced people.

According to the Qatar News Agency, the donation will be used for Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan as well as displaced people within Syria.

It added that the Qatar Development Fund, in coordination with the White Helmets civil defense agency and UN agencies, will be responsible for spending the amount in direct humanitarian relief programs.

Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates' Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation is donating AED18.4 million (US$5 million) in urgent relief aid to Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are facing harsh winter conditions, Emirates News Agency (WAM) said on Wednesday.

The move under the directive of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is part of extensive humanitarian efforts to help relieve the struggles of displaced Syrians in Lebanon, especially during the winter season, reaching the most impoverished families scattered throughout Lebanese territories.

Recently, successive storms have flooded Syrian refugee camps with rainwater, destroying tents, mattresses and food supplies.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.