Germany Announces Additional 300 Million Euros in Aid for Syria
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced an additional 300 million euros (326 million dollars) in aid for Syria on Monday, ahead of a conference on the EU’s humanitarian aid for the country in Brussels. “There can only be a peaceful future for Syria if there is an inclusive political process” she stated on the sidelines of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, referring to the recent massacres in Syria.
Three months after the fall of Assad’s regime, Syria was shaken by intense fighting along the coast. HTS fighters, who had relocated from Idlib, carried out a massacre against civilians in Latakia, after members of the religious minority Alawite sect began a rebellion against government forces. The UK-based “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” reported over 1,000 deaths, with more than 700 civilians among the dead. Videos circulating online showed the execution of defenseless people.
Baerbock described the rebuilding of the country as a “mammoth task” in Brussels and Germany will make available an additional 300 million euros to the UN and selected organizations for a peaceful process and for the people in Syria and the region.
According to the Foreign Ministry, 168 million euros of the sum comes from the Foreign Office and 133 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. More than half of the provided funds are expected to benefit the people in Syria, with additional funds to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey.
Despite Baerbock’s assurances, the funds will ultimately flow into the coffers of the Islamists, critics argue.
Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) declined to give advice to Syrian refugees in Germany, saying it was an individual decision and that the security situation was not yet fully stable and therefore, Germany should support Syria now.