UN seeks $10bn for Syria as COVID adds to refugee suffering

UN says a record number of Syrians are facing hunger, malnutrition and disease 10 years after civil war began.

The United Nations is seeking $10bn in aid to help Syria, saying civilians there continue to face attacks as well as increased hunger and poverty, as the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the “despair and disaster” of 10 years of civil war. The appeal came ahead of Tuesday’s Brussels Conference on Syria, an annual event co-hosted by the UN and the European Union. It includes $4.2bn for the humanitarian response inside Syria and $5.8bn for refugees and their hosts in the Middle East.