The Saudi campaign to raise funds to aid the Syrian people has so far collected over 143,100,000 Saudi riyals, according to Abdullah Rabeeah, the general supervisor of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia launched the humanitarian aid campaign on Tuesday to collect 100 million Saudi riyals ($ 27 million) to help the Syrian people in need.
King Salman himself donated 20 million riyals, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef donated 10 million. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also contributed 8 million riyals.
“Collecting this big amount of money during a short period of time indicates the humanity of the Saudi people and their faith in standing by their Muslim brothers,” Rabeeah said.
Rabeeah added that the campaign, which translates ‘Together for Syria’s Relief’, will continue for three days in the kingdom. He said the campaign is part of the aid and humanitarian programs the kingdom provides for Syrian refugees.
Rabeeah pointed out that the popular campaign will contribute to easing the suffering of Syrian refugees during this winter season. The donations will be used to provide food parcels to 540,000 displaced Syrians for a period of five months.
King Salman’s Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center said it is providing relief aid, especially urgent winter supplies and equipment, to Syrians displaced from their homes. It said it will set up and equip a camp for the displaced people in northern Syria.
In Germany, meanwhile, the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UTED) and the Turkish Red Crescent launched a fundraising campaign in the city of Cologne to collect donations for the people of Aleppo. An event was organized where German children donated savings from their pocket money to the Syrian children who were forced out of their homes by the Assad regime and its allied militias.
Head of UTED Zafer Sarikaya criticized the silence of many rights group over the war crimes being committed in Syria, adding that the efforts Turkey has made to safely evacuate residents of eastern Aleppo represent a lesson for the countries claiming they are cradle of human rights and democracy .
Many people who were evacuated from eastern Aleppo died of their wounds as regime forces and their allied Iranian-backed militias obstructed the evacuation deal and prevented teams of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Red Cross from entering the embattled city.
Head of the Syrian interim government Jawad Abu Hatab earlier said that many of the evacuees were seriously injured in the bombing campaign by the Assad regime and Russian forces including with internationally banned weapons.
Abu Hatab noted that many of the injuries got worse due to the lack of medical care and severe cold in eastern Aleppo, which fell to regime forces last week.
President of the Syrian Coalition Anas Abdah on mid-December sent a letter to 25 countries and organizations as well as to the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon urging them to take immediate, concrete action to ensure the safety of civilians who were trapped in Aleppo . (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office + Agencies)
