NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 10 (RIA Novosti) – The global community is failing to help Syrians by meeting a $7.7 billion aid appeal or stopping weapons flowing into the turbulent country, Andy Baker, of the British aid group Oxfam, told RIA Novosti.
“There has been no embargo on arms and ammunition and few states have stepped up to offer protection to even a small number of refugees. Some $7.7 billion of humanitarian appeals are less than half funded. The international community needs to wake up to its responsibility to the victims of this conflict,” Baker said on Wednesday.
“This is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and the global community’s response falls short on every front. In Syria, flows of Kalashnikovs, bombs and missiles fuel terrible violations. Aid only trickles through to those who desperately need it. Neighboring countries host millions of refugees, many in desperate need of healthcare, food, water and shelter,” Baker added.
Baker’s comments come on the heels of a 20-page Oxfam report, called A Fairer Deal for Syrians, which accuses various Western countries of not paying their fair share to the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.
Peaceful protests began in Syria in March 2011 and quickly descended into all-out fighting between government forces, rebels and jihadists, some of them linked to al-Qaeda. The ongoing civil war has already claimed more than 190,000 lives and forced as many as three million more to flee their homes.
