US Awards Syrian Opposition $25 Million In Nonlethal Aid
By Ria Novosti
The United States provided the Syrian opposition fighting President Bashar al-Assad with $25 million of nonlethal assistance, Department of State Patrick Ventrell said.
“There is the $15 million pot of money, but in addition to that we have another $10 million that we have obligated and are spending to assist the Syrian opposition out of wider funds that we spend in the region,” Ventrell told a daily press briefing.
The official pointed out that the sum of $25 million goes in particular to the opposition and is not part of the $64 million, which the United States allocated Syria in humanitarian aid.
“There is one pot of money that is humanitarian in nature, and that is $64 million, and that is wholly separate from the nonlethal aid to the opposition. That’s the kind of humanitarian aid that we spend through the UN, through NGOs, and that’s the kind of money that helps the refugees who are flowing across the borders,” Ventrell said.
Since March 2011, the Syrian conflict has claimed 14,000-20,000 lives, according to estimates by various Syrian opposition groups. The West is pushing for al-Assad’s ouster, while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in Syria saying the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.
