US pledges $60 million in food and medical aid to Syrian rebels

Rome - US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $60 million in aid to Syrian rebels. The aid will be in the form of food and medical supplies, not arms, Kerry said. Western and Arab countries have also pledged more political and material support.

During a press availability in Rome, Italy, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the US would provide Syrian rebels with $60 million for food and medical aid. During a summit of Western and Arab nations Kerry said that working together a lot had already been accomplished. He said that as a group they had applied broad sanctions on the Assad regime, which had dried up the funds of the regime's funds. Working together, we’ve already been able to do a lot. We’ve imposed broad sanctions on the Assad regime that dry up some of the funds that fuel his war machine. In addition, we have supported the Syrian Opposition Coalition with training, organization, and some of the communications resources that they need to reach out to the Syrian people. We continue to increase our humanitarian support for those who are suffering. But today, President Obama has encouraged all of us to embrace the notion that we need to do more.

So the $60 million that I announced on his behalf today will do the following: It will strengthen the organizational capacity of the Syrian Opposition Coalition. It will help war torn communities be able to survive devastating situations with respect to sanitation, food delivery, medical care. It will speed the delivery of basic goods and services including security and education. It will help to initiate discussions with those who are providing for public order and for justice as the transition itself unfolds. And we will help the SNC, Free Syrian Army, and the civilian opposition to feed those in need and tend to the sick and the wounded. After a meeting of the Friends of Syria,Western and Arab countries also pledged more political and material support to the opposition in Syria. The summit told the Assad regime that the indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, which are crimes against humanity, must stop immediately. They did not state what form this support would take. The ministers pledged more political and material support to the (Syrian National) coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and to get more concrete assistance (into) Syria," it said. They gave no detail of what kind of support would be supplied.

The statement also deplored "the unabated arms supply to the regime by third countries".

According to Reuters the aid did not fully satisfy the Syrian National Council, which is a fractious group based in Cairo. Syrian National Coalition President Moaz Alkhatib said that many sides focus more on the length of a rebel fighters beard, than the blood of the children being killed. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising started almost two years ago.