US Aid Package to Syria Insufficient to Stabilize Front-Line States

Human Rights First Director of Refugee Protection Eleanor Acer said the US aid package of more than half a billion dollars for Syrian refugees will not be enough to bring stability to the region. Acer says at least twice that amount is needed to successfully re-settle the Syrian refugees.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US aid package of more than half a billion dollars for displaced Syrians will not be enough to stabilize regional countries that have absorbed millions of refugees from the Syrian conflict, Human Rights First Director of Refugee Protection Eleanor Acer said in a press release.

“While increased aid is essential, it will not be enough to provide stability to the front-line states… as they struggle to host large numbers of Syrian refugees from a conflict that is now in its fifth year,” Acer said on Tuesday.

The United States announced earlier on Tuesday that it would provide $508 million in aid for Syria, according to the release.

The financial assistance is welcome but Washington needs to redouble efforts at resettling refugees, Acer argued.

Twelve million people have been displaced during the Syrian conflict and 4 million have fled to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, according to the release.

The United States has resettled only 500 refugees and aims to review 1,000 cases per month going forward.

In recent months, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon have blocked refugees from fleeing the violence and terror in Syria, the release added.

Syria has been in a state of civil war for the past four years, with government forces engaged against various Islamic extremist groups, including the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State.