The United Nations on Friday appealed for 347 million dollars so it can meet the growing humanitarian needs of 2.5 million Syrians affected by the intensified conflict that has killed more than 18,000 people, DPA reported.
The UN sought 180 million dollars in July, but received only half of the amount. In the meantime, the number of Syrians who have fled the country and those displaced inside the country has increased because of the continued fighting.
The UN's Syria Humanitarian Response Plan said the new funding would go to priority areas of health, food, infrastructure, community services, education and shelter for people in Homs, Hama, Idlib, Damascus, rural Damascus, Deir Ezzor and Aleppo. Syrians affected by the fighting in other areas would also receive assistance.
The new funding would also help the 245,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, including the record number of more than 100,000 Syrians who fled their country in August alone.
"This begins to give you a sense of the scale of the tragedy that is unfolding, and the fact that it's escalating, rather than dissipating," said John Ging, the chief of operations at the UN office for humanitarian affairs.