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DEC makes appeal for Syria crisis

22 March 2013

© MEDAIR

Makeshift: a young refugee from Syria stands in front of the shelter that is now his home, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on 13 December

Makeshift: a young refugee from Syria stands in front of the shelter that is now his home, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on 13 December

THE Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched an appeal yesterday for money to respond to the "catastrophe" in Syria.

The DEC said in a statement that, although the appeal did not have a specific target, its "members and their partners" believed that more than £150 million was needed to respond to the crisis in Syria. It said that funds were "urgently required to provide aid such as food, clean water, emergency shelter, and medical care".

The chief executive of the DEC, Saleh Saeed, said: "The humanitarian crisis in Syria has now turned into a catastrophe. Our members can get more aid to people inside Syria, and to families who have fled to neighbouring countries. We are asking the public for their support. . .

"The fighting inside Syria makes delivering aid there very hard, but it is not impossible. It is also hard to show people in the UK what is going on, without putting aid work and aid workers at risk. We trust that the public will understand the great need of families in Syria, even if they cannot always see their suffering."

A spokeperson for the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said on Monday that a "political solution" needed to be found "while there is still time to prevent Syria's complete destruction. The end goal is clear to all - there must be an end to violence, a clean break with the past, and a transition to a new Syria in which the rights of all communities are protected.

"The sooner a military solution is abandoned the better. There is no need for more people to die, flee, or grieve in Syria."

For more information and to donate, visit www.dec.org.uk

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