PAPHOS – EU foreign ministers, in their first talks since the summer break, called Friday for a massive boost in aid to Syrian civilians amid mounting fears the humanitarian crisis could impact on security in Europe. As Brussels announced an extra 50 million euros ($63 million) for civilians trapped in the conflict, EU ministers at a two-day informal meeting held just 100 km from Syria warned that the humanitarian crisis was reaching tipping-point. “Humanitarian needs are rising rapidly,” said British Foreign Secretary William Hague. “We need additional contributions to the human effort urgently. I want to put the proposal to my colleagues that other EU nations need to do more.” The latest aid, likely to be distributed through NGOs, brings the EU contribution in all to 200 million euros, half of all international help. It is aimed at reaching the 200,000 refugees massed in neighbours Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq as well as the 1.2 million people displaced inside Syria. As the number of Syrians fleeing their homes continues to soar, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday it would more than double aid to people displaced inside Syria. “UNHCR's share of the budget in a revised Syria Humanitarian Response Plan being presented to donors this morning is more than doubling to $41.7 million,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. The agency stressed that this plan is separate from the aid plan for refugees who have fled Syria to neighbouring countries. More than 21,500 Syrian refugees had fled the violence in their home country and registered in neighbouring Iraq as of Friday, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The UNHCR's Syria Regional Refugee Response website said that 21,744 Syrians have registered in Iraq, while the number still waiting to register is unknown, meaning that the total number of Syrian refugees in Iraq is likely to be higher. According to the UNHCR, most of the registered Syrian refugees in Iraq – 13,997 – are in Dohuk province which hosts the Domiz refugee camp and which is one of the three provinces that make up the autonomous Kurdistan region. Anbar, which shares a long border with Syria and hosts Al-Qaim refugee camp, has 4,271 registered refugees, while Arbil and Sulaimaniyah, the two other provinces in the Kurdistan region, have 2,984 and 492 respectively. Meanwhile, Syrian forces bombarded a crowded Palestinian refugee district in Damascus Friday, killing at least 10 people according to residents, while other parts of the city were rocked by apparent rebel bomb attacks. Five security personnel were killed and several others were wounded in a blast caused by explosives attached to a motorcycle in the Rukn Al-Din district of Damascus, state television said. A car bomb also exploded between the Information Ministry and the main Damascus courthouse, it said, giving no details of any casualties. In the south of the capital, rockets rained down on Yarmouk, a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp. A woman living nearby counted at least 11 strikes. Video uploaded by activists showed clouds of grey smoke curling into the air. “At least 10 people have been killed and 15 wounded since they resumed shelling,” the woman said by telephone.” Elsewhere, two children were killed when Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border was shelled, and two rebels were killed by mortar fire in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, the Observatory said. – Agencies
