Interview: Over 5 million Syrians internally displaced: SARC

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-9-17 8:33:04

The head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) put the number of the internally displaced Syrians at more than five million, stressing that the current funding cannot support his organization's operations.

"We have more than five million displaced people inside Syria and we are covering only 40 percent ... I think there are more than two and half to three million people who are in bad need of help," Abdul-Rahman al-Attar told Xinhua in a recent interview.

While stressing that the SARC is independent and depends mainly on donations, Attar said the Syrian government is trying to help despite the hindrances for aid delivery.

He added the key issue is not the availability of the aid but is its delivery.

Attar expressed concerns about humanitarian workers in Syria, which has been gripped by a 29-month-old deadly conflict that darkens all aspects of life.

"The crisis hasn't even spared the lives of those who work in the humanitarian field as the SARC had lost 30 of its volunteers, who were caught in the middle of the battles between the government troops and the rebels," Attar said.

"Another problem the SARC faces, is the limited access to the affected areas across Syria.

"We have been facing a lot of difficulty in reaching all the Syrian territories... we are covering more than 80 to 85 percent of the Syrian territories but still, we need to have better access to different areas, especially in the north part of the country," he said.

Attar, meanwhile, complained that the fund of his organization is not enough.

"Until now, what we are spending ... is short of 100 or 150 million dollars... But in such a crisis, we should talk about one billion or two billion dollars... I am sure that at the end of this year, we will have a serious shortage in the funds."

Posted in: Mid-East

blog comments powered by Disqus