UNRWA urges donors to support Palestinian refugees in Syria

Beirut, May 19 (IANS/EFE) The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) urged international donors to increase their humanitarian support to help displaced people living in Syria, according to the agency's statement issued on Tuesday.

UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said the agency urgently needed money to save lives in Syria, as cited on the UNRWA website.

"As violence continues to profoundly threaten the lives and safety of Palestine refugees throughout Syria, UNRWA appeals for donors to increase their support to the Agency's urgent Call for Funds, seeking an immediate injection of $30 million," noted Gunness.

"The UNRWA Syria Crisis Appeal has received only 21 percent of the funds needed for 2015," he added

"The capacity of the agency to sustain life-saving emergency interventions, whilst responding immediately to urgent developments such as the one impacting Yarmouk since April 1, is undermined by chronic underfunding for humanitarian interventions inside Syria," the statement added.

"More than 95 percent of Palestine refugees now rely on UNRWA to meet their daily needs of food, water and healthcare," the statement explained.

The Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus has been the scene of heavy fighting since April between Islamic State and various Palestinian factions trying to expel the terrorist group.

--IANS/EFE

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