Connect with us

Conflicts

Kobane refugee crisis: EU steps up assistance

SHARE:

Published

on

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

42-62891524The European Commission is giving €3.9 million in humanitarian funding to help meet the urgent needs of the thousands of people who have fled to Turkey in recent weeks to escape the fighting in the Syrian town of Kobane.

“Over 180,000 Syrians have been displaced to Turkey by the fierce fighting in Kobane. This further adds to the impact of what is the biggest humanitarian crisis of our times. We are directing urgently needed funds to help the humanitarian organizations on the ground deal with the massive influx of refugees,” said  International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.

This funding will help humanitarian organizations provide clean water, shelter and medicine to refugees, as well as ensure sanitation and food services.

It is part of the European Commission's €150m humanitarian aid budget for the Syrian crisis in 2014. Jointly, the European Union continues to lead the international response to the crisis with nearly €3 billion of funding, mobilized by the Commission and Member States collectively in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilization assistance so far.

Background

The town of Kobane near the Turkish border has been the target of ISIL fighters for the past three weeks. This is the biggest influx of Syrian refugees to Turkey since the beginning of the crisis over three years ago. The European Commission has been stepping up its assistance to help meet the needs of more than a million refugees seeking shelter in Turkey, those from Syria as well as Iraq, by increasing its humanitarian funding from the initially foreseen 3.5m to 8.5m in 2014.

More information

Advertisement

The European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection
Factsheet on humanitarian response to Syria crisis
Commissioner Georgieva's website

Share this article:

EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter.

Trending