Vietnam pledges over $2.4 billion in aid for victims in Syria.

The second international donor conference for Syria, held in Kuwait on January 15th, concluded with commitments of over $2.4 billion in humanitarian aid for victims of the protracted civil war in Syria. However, this figure is less than half of the $6.5 billion that the United Nations appealed for to support Syria in all of 2014.

A Syrian refugee after crossing the border into Türkiye. Source: AFP

Among the nearly 70 countries and 24 international organizations participating in the conference, host country Kuwait led with a contribution of $500 million. This was followed by the United States with $380 million. This was the largest fundraising appeal in the history of the United Nations for an urgent humanitarian assistance case.

The United Nations had planned to allocate $2.3 billion to support 9.3 million Syrians within the country and $4.2 billion for Syrian refugees abroad. However, the amount pledged at the conference did not reach the UN's target.

The conference took place just one week before the second Syrian peace conference in Geneva, Switzerland, aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict that has claimed the lives of 130,000 people in Syria. According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, half of Syria's population is in need of urgent assistance, while more than 3 million people have been displaced abroad.

Regarding the Geneva II conference, on January 15th, the opposition group "National Coordinating Organization for Democratic Change" (NCBDC) decided to "conditionally decline the invitation."

Previously, the United Nations and the two sponsors of the Conference, the United States and Russia, had called on the Syrian National Coalition (SNC - the exiled opposition force) to form a joint delegation representing opposition groups in Syria under the leadership of the coalition. However, the NCBDC considered that idea "not serious."

The SNC itself has not yet decided whether or not to participate in the conference. The SNC General Assembly is expected to meet and decide on this matter on January 17th, just five days before the conference.

On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry regarding preparations for the Geneva II summit and measures to address the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow had warned the negotiating parties against imposing unilateral conditions. Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed the need to fully respect the agreements reached in previous multilateral talks.

For his part, Secretary of State Kerry expressed hope that the Syrian government and opposition would reach a ceasefire agreement in the coming days to create a "more favorable atmosphere" for the Geneva II conference. He also hoped that the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on January 17th would help "provide assurances" to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regarding the necessary steps for this ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, violence continues in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR - based in the UK) reported on January 15th that a car bomb attack in the north of the country killed at least 26 people, including many civilians.

The bombing took place in the town of Jarablos in Aleppo province, an area that has seen fierce fighting in recent days between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL - linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network) and rival rebel forces.

According to Vietnam+