NorthIowaToday.com

Founded in 2010

News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region

State Department asks Congress for $70 million to aid Syrian opposition

The situation in Syria is most critical for people living in communities under siege, such as Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria. UN Photo
The situation in Syria is most critical for people living in communities under siege, such as Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria. UN Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of State is working with Congress to provide nearly $70 million in new non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, which is battling the despotic regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Deputy Secretary Tony Blinken told Syrian opposition and Syrian-American participants at an event marking the fourth anniversary of the Syrian revolution that with this additional funding, the United States will have committed nearly $400 million in assistance that supports the Syrian opposition since the start of the revolution, which has claimed over 200,000 lives.

This new non-lethal assistance includes:

  • Nearly $30 million to continue and enable the opposition and local governance structures inside Syria to provide basic services and governance to their communities, as well as ongoing support for civil defense workers who play a critical role in emergency first response in Syria.
  • $25 million in non-lethal support to vetted units of the armed opposition to help enhance their operational capabilities as they seek to protect their communities from the duel threat posed by the Asad regime and extremist groups.
  • Digital security training and tools to keep activists, civil society members, journalists, and other opposition actors safe as they seek to network with each other and share information, including about regime and other atrocities.
  • Support for the documentation of war crimes, human rights violations, and abuses by the Syrian regime, as well as armed and extremist groups in Syria, in order to facilitate accountability.

According to the state department, these efforts will help inform future reconciliation initiatives and engender a lasting peace.

The war began in when pro-democracy protests turned violent in March 2011 in Deraa after the arrest and torture of some teenagers. Syrian military opened fire on the demonstrators, which led to more and bigger protests that sparked the development of rebel forces which now battle those of the Syrian government.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Even more news:

Watercooler
Copyright 2024 – Internet Marketing Pros. of Iowa, Inc.
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x