US provided Syria humanitarian aid worth $210 mln. in 2012

Last year the Unites States provided humanitarian aid worth $210 million to Syrians, who suffered from the ongoing bloody conflict between the ruling authorities and the rebels, the US Department of State said in a statement.

“The Assad regime’s war on its own civilian population over the past two years has precipitated a critical humanitarian crisis. The United States is providing $210 million in humanitarian aid to assist conflict-affected Syrians inside Syria and those who have fled to neighboring countries, the majority of whom are residing among local communities,” the statement said.

The department said that the humanitarian aid was channeled to Syria through contributions to “U.N. and other international agencies as well as partner non-governmental organizations.”

Earlier in the week, a statement from the UN World Food Programme said that some 2.5 million people in Syria were in need of food assistance.

Syria has been engulfed in a bloody civil war between various anti-Assad opposition forces and government troops since March 2011. The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed so far.