In view of the humanitarian truce agreed in Munich on Thursday, Italy has allocated three million euros for humanitarian aid in Syria. ''These are emergency actions to alleviate the suffering of the tens of thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, fleeing the bomb attacks and the ongoing violence in the north of the country, near Aleppo," said Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni.
With 2 million euro funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) will be able to ensure distribution of food produce (legumes, rice, sugar, flour, vegetable oil) to the refugees - over 30,000 according to UN estimates - travelling towards the Turkish border from villages of Aleppo Governorate. Another aid package of 1 million euros will be allocated to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to purchase and distribute relief items (tents, stoves, fuel, personal hygiene products).
The Italian contribution, defined in agreement with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), is part of the commitment made at the Syria Donors Conference in London on February 4 to implement a $ 400 million three-year action plan for humanitarian projects and actions to support development in Syria and in the countries of the region.